Pokémon: Evolution Eevee
by Fire Girl125
Summary: It was all supposed to be harmless research. It was strictly for Science and out of curiosity. But what Gary discovers about his Eevee can fall into the wrong hands and put her (and Ash) in a lot of danger. With Ash and Gary out to seek revenge against a Pokémon magician, will they find themselves in something so much bigger than what they thought? PearlShipping, RedvineShipping.
1. Now You See Him, Now You Don't

**A/N: Welcome one and all to my new story (and my first story that has to do with Pokémon)! **

**I find it that it's a little odd that there are 10 year old's running around in different regions capturing (practically cute and adorable) monsters, so I decided to change the ages a bit.**

**Ash - 16**

**Dawn - 15**

**Gary - 16**

**Brock - 18**

**And now, I have to put the disclaimer that I don't own Pokémon but I wish I did someday. Enjoy the first chapter! Trust me, it gets better as it goes along.) **

* * *

The Pokémon Center in Twin Leaf was unusually busy on that particular crisp fall day. Nurse Joy had been spending the entire afternoon trying to give Pokémon checkups, going over charts and ordering medicine all while trying to keep the kids that were waiting for their Pokémon occupied.

_Thank goodness, there's that magician coming in today,_ Nurse Joy thought to herself. _It's unusually busy here. _ Nurse Joy remembered that she had booked a Pokémon magician the other day after an incident last week where there were 30 cranky kids waiting for their Piplup, Turtwig and Chimchar. The one thing she learned that day? Never leave 30 kids that were anxiously waiting for their Pokémon by themselves. Nurse Joy continued to take care of the orders when the doors to the Pokémon center opened. The man dressed in all black, with a cape around his neck entered inside the Pokémon Center and started looking around, as if he was looking for someone. Nurse Joy quickly nodded her head and started to get back to work, however she was interested to see what he was going to do. A young girl who looked about 10 turned her head with a confused look towards man.

"Who are you?" The young girl asked. The magician went behind the girls' ear and pulled out a small coin as if it was almost—_magic_.

"I am a Pokémon magician." The man introduced himself. He then flashed multiple cards, which made the kids look up from what they were doing to stare at him. It was almost as if he was hypnotizing them. The kids quickly all sat around the magician as he took his hat and pulled out a Roselia. "And I am here to make all of your dreams come true." The magician took out a Pokéball from his back pocket, opened it up to show the kids that there was nothing inside and that he was going to make something appear. "I'm going to make a Pokémon disappear—but I assure you, the Pokémon will come back." The magician said as if he was trying to assure the children that it was all a small joke. A girl in the back row came forward with a Pokéball, holding it out for the stranger.

"There's a Vaporeon in here." The girl smiled. The man's face then made a devilish grin but he quickly regrouped himself to put on a nice smile for the girl. He took the Pokéball and fiddled behind his back with the empty Pokéball in his back pocket. He handed the empty Pokéball to the girl while nodding his head as if to say for her to open it. The girl quickly opened the Pokéball to see if there was magic within. To the amazement of the other children, the Pokéball was empty and Vaporeon was gone! The girl then handed the empty Pokéball back to the magician, waiting for her Vaporeon to return.

"All right, now we're going to say some magic words to make Vaporeon reappear." The magician said. The girl quickly clapped her hands, waiting to see what she had to do to get her friend to return. "Say the magic words: _Pokémon, return _and just like that, Vaporeon will come back." The room full of kids quickly said the "magic words" hoping that Vaporeon would return. No one expected what was going to happen next. The magician pulled out a cloud of dust from his back pocket, slammed it down while the children went into a gigantic coughing fit. As the smoke cleared, the kids noticed the magician disappeared. Nurse Joy was positive that it wasn't a part of the act and that there had to be a thief in the midst. The girl with the now missing Vaporeon started to scream at the top of her lungs while Nurse Joy headed towards the nearest phone. It was time to call Officer Jenny. Nurse Joy heard a couple of rings before the clicking noise that someone picked up came to her ear.

"Hello?" Officer Jenny's voice came from the telephone.

"Jenny? It's Joy." Nurse Joy said frantically. "A Pokémon magician came in and stole a young girl's Vaporeon." Officer Jenny made a 'tsk' sound—as if she had heard of this before.

"That's the third theft from that guy. I'm on it." Officer Jenny replied, but then she sounded serious. "You need to make sure that you're careful with who comes in the Pokémon Center."

"Got it." Nurse Joy sounded a little guilty. It was because of her that the girl's Vaporeon was missing. She really _did_ have to be careful. Any other Pokémon could go missing. The question was, which one would go missing next?

Officer Jenny slammed the phone down and headed out the door to look for the thief. If there was something that she hated, it was the fact that someone would try to steal someone's Pokémon. A little girls' Pokémon was crossing the line for her. As she continued to look for the suspect, she noticed a train that wasn't supposed to be on the tracks—a train that wasn't a train for passengers. It looked almost like a circus train. Officer Jenny proceeded with caution, trying to see if the criminal was inside the train. Before she had a chance to look through, the Pokémon magician appeared before her. He didn't look as nice as when he first entered the Pokémon center.

"Give back the Pokémon that you stole from the Pokémon Center, this instant!" Officer Jenny yelled. The Pokémon magician pretended not to know what Officer Jenny was talking about, and even took the moment to try to annoy her.

"Whatever are you talking about Officer Jenny?"

"Don't play innocent with me!" Officer Jenny quickly retorted. "Nurse Joy and 30 other children said you were the one that stole a Vaporeon. You stole from an innocent child! And now you're going to pay dearly."

"You see, that's where you're wrong Officer Jenny." The Pokémon magician gave a slight chuckle. "I'm not the one that's going to pay dearly. It's going to be you—along with the rest of the world."

"I've had enough of this." Officer Jenny took out a pair of handcuffs. "Hands behind your back!" The Pokémon magician looked as if he was going to oblige, but he pulled out some dust from his back pocket.

"Now you see me." The Pokémon magician threw the dust on the ground, which sent Officer Jenny in a coughing fit. "And now, you don't." While Officer Jenny continued to cough, she began to notice that the train was moving, which meant that her suspect was getting away. Officer Jenny pulled out a Pokéball in haste so that she could at least have a chance to get her suspect.

"Stunky, go follow that train!" Officer Jenny yelled as the Pokéball flew in the air. Out came Stunky from its safe haven as it started to run after the circus type train. Stunky was gaining faster and faster on the Pokémon magician, but as it got close, the magician threw his dust into Stunky's eyes, blurring its vision and sending it into a coughing fit. The train sped up faster and faster, and just like that Officer Jenny knew; her suspect had got away. Officer Jenny returned Stunky into its Pokéball and in the same swift motion, pulled out her walkie-talkie. "This is a message to all of Sinnoh. The Sinnoh region is under a code red! I repeat the Sinnoh region is under a code red." Officer Jenny angrily removed the walkie-talkie from her mouth, watching the train and her suspect take off into the night.


	2. Doing Research

**Here's chapter 2 of the story**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I wish I did. R&R. :)**

* * *

The cruise ship heading to Twinleaf town was hustling and bustling with many people—and many Pokémon. While most of the people were downstairs eating, most of the Pokémon were on deck observing the views of the ocean—and the trophy Ash Ketchum got for being in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League. Ash's best friend (and Pokémon) Pikachu was busy making faces in the trophy, trying to make Gary Oak's Eevee laugh at the reflection. Eevee continued to watch Pikachu make faces into the trophy, which inspired her to make some faces in the trophy on her own. Pikachu and Eevee couldn't help but continue playing with one another, which caught the attention of Gary. Gary knew that it was silly that Eevee was playing with a trophy, but he had to admit that seeing Eevee playing with Pikachu was the single most adorable thing in the entire world.

"No matter what face you make Eevee; the reflection is going to copy you." Gary playfully said.

"Eevee, Eevee!" Eevee called over to Gary then turned back to Pikachu, returning to making silly faces. Gary shook his head with a smile on his face towards his Pokémon. _She's quite an adventure that Eevee, _Gary's mind was racing about all the adventures he had been through with Eevee. He was so into his thoughts, he didn't notice Brock walking his way leaning on the railing along with him.

"Can you believe it? After all those years of training, Ash made the top 4 in the Sinnoh League." Brock proudly spoke of his longtime companion.

"The guys back home aren't going to make it any easier for him." Gary chuckled. "They've probably been planning him a party since they found out he was in the Top 4."

"Everyone in Pallet Town must be really proud." Brock turned towards Gary. Gary was deep in thought about something, but he wasn't sure what it could be.

"Yeah, they are." Gary admitted. Gary remembered talking to his grandfather Professor Oak and Ash's mother after the competition and they couldn't help but beam with pride over what Ash had accomplished. Gary had to admit, he was proud of his good friend as well. Gary and Ash had been through so much together as young kids, growing into strong Pokémon trainers and eventually deciding different paths. Gary wanted to be a Pokémon researcher after the Johto league and ever since then he had been interested in discovering how to revive different ancient Pokémon all while Ash continued his journey to be a Pokémon trainer. Gary sometimes had regrets about whether or not he should have continued his journey as a Pokémon trainer, seeing the world, competing in Gym Battles, competing in leagues. "I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I didn't quit being a Pokémon trainer."

"You mean being rude and stuffy all the time?" Brock half joked, but Gary knew that there was some truth in Brock's words. When Gary first started his Pokémon journey along with Ash, Gary made Ash's life miserable and almost impossible. Gary honestly thought that he was the better trainer. However, after suffering a defeat against Ash in Johto, he knew that he had a lot to learn about Pokémon. There was a lot to learn which partly influenced his decision in being a researcher.

"I actually wouldn't have mind changing my attitude back then." Gary admitted. "I like being nice. It makes people hang around with me all for the right reasons. By the way, I don't think Eevee could have handled my stuffy attitude. I wouldn't have blamed her." Gary pointed towards Eevee who was still in a reflection contest with Pikachu.

"But I don't think if you were mean you would have adopted Eevee." Brock said.

"I guess that's the perk of being a Pokémon researcher." Gary continued to eye Eevee who was now running around the trophy trying to chase Pikachu playfully. "I was wondering if I could use Eevee for some research. I wanted to know why Eevee is able to evolve into seven different Pokémon: Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon and Glaceon. What makes Eevee's DNA so different that it has to change?"

"That's the joy of being a Pokémon researcher." Brock replied. "With Eevee, you'll have all the time in the world to figure that out." Brock and Gary had been so wrapped into their conversation that they didn't notice that Ash had been missing from all the fun. "I wonder where Ash went. He's been missing for hours." Brock finally wondered.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Dawn either." Realization dawned on Gary about where the 'lovebirds' went.

"I guess in the midst of the Sinnoh League, they didn't forget that they were celebrating their 6 month anniversary." Brock shook his head while a smile plastered on his face.

"I'm really happy for Ashy Boy." Gary referred to Ash as the nickname he had given him ever since they were little kids. "I really am." Brock's smile turned shrewd as he regarded to Gary.

"And things between you and Zoey are…?" Brock slyly mentioned. Gary's face turned bright red at the thought of Zoey. In fact, his heart started beating quickly just by the mention of her name!

"Me? Zoey? I don't know what you're talking about." Gary tried to play it off but when Brock gave him a look that said he didn't believe him, Gary decided to come clean. "We haven't really spoken in a while."

"And why not?" Brock asked.

"Why would a top coordinator like Zoey want to be with a researcher in training like me?" Gary sounded a bit depressed. "I'm not special." Brock couldn't believe what he was hearing from Gary. Did Gary really think that he wasn't special?

"Gary, I can't believe you can't see how special you are." Brock's voice sounded as if he was scolding him a bit. "You are going to be a great Pokémon researcher one day. I can feel it." Gary wanted to believe Brock's words but he couldn't bring himself to. He just couldn't believe it—not yet anyway.

* * *

Downstairs in the cruise restaurant, Dawn was trying to have a relaxing lunch with Ash before they reached Twinleaf Town—Dawn's hometown. She couldn't believe all that had happened between Ash and Dawn in the past 6 months. Besides dating (and practically annoying the heck out of Gary), Dawn had witnessed her boyfriend make it to the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League, one of the most prestigious honors. Sure, he didn't win but Dawn was awfully proud to be the girlfriend of such a hardworking trainer. He cared about his Pokémon so much but he wasn't so dense to realize that she was getting feelings for him. To her surprise, Ash had felt the exact same way. 6 months later they were as happy as they could be, heading home to some relaxing time off. Dawn brought their food over to the table with Dawn giving Ash a loving smile.

"I can't wait to bring you home to Twinleaf Town. My mom said that she wanted to meet you as my boyfriend and the tough trainer she saw on T.V. Can you believe it? My boyfriend was in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League!" Dawn beamed. Ash could understand why Dawn was so excited. He had to admit—he was excited as well.

"I mean, it's not a big deal." Ash tried not to brag. "I've seen legendary Pokémon before and I've beaten them too."

"I know, but I'm just so proud of you." Dawn reached to grab Ash's hand over the table. "You really deserve everything you're going to get. Everything that's happened in the past 6 months has been worth it."

"I have to say, _you_ were the best thing that happened in those past 6 months." Hearing Ash's words made Dawn blush and feel good that she was the thing that made Ash's life worthwhile. Dawn and Ash ate the lunch and just as they finished they heard the announcement from the megaphone that they made it to Twinleaf Town.

_We are now arriving at Twinleaf Town. Thank you for riding the S.S Pokémon. _

"Come on, let's go and get Brock and Gary." Dawn got up, grabbed her bag while reaching for Ash's hand. Ash grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ash and Dawn walked up the stairs to the deck where they spotted Gary and Brock looking out at Twinleaf Town. Pikachu and Eevee were staring out at the town, excited to finally get off the boat and stretch their legs. Dawn let go of Ash's hand as soon as they started letting everyone off the boat. As Dawn rushed off the boat towards town, Gary, Brock and Ash all gave each other a look with a smile.

"I'm guessing she's excited to be home." Gary assumed.

"Yeah, but can you really blame her?" Ash replied as Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder.

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu said, agreeing with his friend. Ash, Brock and Gary tried to keep up with Dawn who was busy trying to run all the way home. Along the way, Dawn slowed down to let the boys catch up while telling them all about her hometown.

"You just have to see the Pokémon lab! It looks so awesome!" Dawn's mention of the Pokémon lab established interest from Gary.

"Where is the lab?" Gary inquired. "I'd love to see where they keep the starting Pokémon."

"Come on, I can take you there now." Dawn started leading Ash, Brock and Gary en route for the Pokémon lab. Gary couldn't wait to see inside the Pokémon lab and ask the Professor questions. As Dawn continued to lead the boys to the Pokémon lab, she turned her head to one of the posters that was stapled to a tree. Dawn couldn't help but observe the picture of the suspect—the Pokémon magician.

"Dawn?" Ash stopped and turned to her, seeing she was still interested in the wanted poster.

"Hmm?" Dawn answered as if she wasn't listening to her boyfriend.

"Dawn? Is something wrong?" Gary probed. Dawn finally snapped out of her trance while pointing at the flyer.

"A Pokémon magician came to Twinleaf Town and stole a Vaporeon." Dawn despondently informed her friends. Ash, Brock and Gary went back to the tree to read the sign. Ash could see why Dawn felt bothered by the whole situation. It was troubling to lose a good friend of yours, especially if someone stole them.

"Don't worry Dawn." Gary placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder trying to make her feel better. "Officer Jenny is doing everything she can to find the kids Vaporeon. But as for us, there's nothing we can do."

"You're right." Dawn quietly said. Ash put an arm around Dawn's shoulder to lead her away from the poster. Gary decided to change the subject to keep Dawn's mind off the missing Vaporeon.

"Hey Ash?" Gary motioned to his friend. "Do you remember when we started our Pokémon journey?"

"How could I forget?" Ash chuckled. "You took the last Squirtle from Professor Oak."

"It wasn't all bad." Gary patted the back of Eevee's head while smiling. "You were rewarded with a best friend just for being late."

"Pikachu, Pika!" Pikachu spoke up, agreeing with Gary.

"Guys, we're here." Brock told them. Ash, Dawn and Brock looked at the vast building, almost afraid to move.

"I can't wait to go in there and see all the Pokémon!" Gary was the only one that wasn't interested in eyeing the outside of the building. He wanted to see what was _inside_. Ash, Dawn and Brock had no choice but to follow their friend just to make sure he didn't get too excited. When they entered one of the rooms, a Pokémon caught Gary's eye. A large Krabby that noticed Gary from across the room started to make its way towards him. As Krabby reached Gary, it climbed towards his shoulder, which prompted Eevee to jump off to prevent herself from being crushed. Gary noticed that Ash knew who it was, but Gary couldn't quite pinpoint if he knew this particular Krabby.

"Do I know this Pokémon?" Gary asked.

"You should. It is your Krabby after all." A voice came from the other room, coming closer towards them. Pikachu was the first one to recognize the voice in which all four teenagers wondered why Pikachu was so excited. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, heading towards the opposite side of the room. Ash and Gary looked up to see that they should have recognized the voice sooner. It was none other than Gary's grandfather, Professor Oak!

"Grandpa!" Gary exclaimed.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu greeted Professor Oak happily.

"What are you all doing here?" Professor Oak wondered. "I thought you all would have been heading to Kanto."

"We were, but Dawn wanted to see her mother." Ash explained.

"Of course! Johanna the Pokémon coordinator!" Professor Oak sounded as if he was a big fan of Dawn's mother. "I've watched her on T.V back in the day. She's quite talented."

"Grandpa?" Gary wanted to change the subject for a moment. "Did you hear about the Pokémon magician that stole a little girl's Vaporeon?"

"Unfortunately I did Gary." Professor Oak sighed. "I can assure you kids; Officer Jenny is doing all she can on the case."

"That's what we'd like to hear." Ash admitted.

"Pikachu." Pikachu agreed.

"By the way Gary, how is your research on Eevee doing?" Professor Oak questioned.

"We're still trying to figure all about Eevee's DNA structure." Gary patted Eevee on the head while eyeing his grandfather. "We're trying to wonder why Eevee is able to evolve into so many different Pokémon"

"Say, I have an idea. Why don't you use some of the lab equipment here to finish your theory? Professor Rowan surely won't mind." Professor Oak smiled.

"Sounds like a plan." Gary nodded his head. "What do you think Eevee?"

"Eevee!" Eevee cheered on her friend.

"Then it's settled." Brock said. "Ash, Dawn and I will go to Dawn's house to see her mother while you do some research here."

"Sounds good." Gary nodded his head. Brock led Dawn and Ash out the door with all of them waving goodbye to Professor Oak and Gary, which gave Gary an excuse to get some work done. "Let's get to work, Eevee." Professor Oak couldn't help but chuckle at his grandson. Seeing him and Eevee bonding over one of Gary's biggest projects was fascinating but what Gary and Professor Oak didn't know was that the research Gary was doing, could ultimately end the world as they both knew it.


	3. The Battle

**A/N: Here's Chapter 3! Hope you guys enjoy! :)**

* * *

The walk to Dawn's house was almost as exhilarating as the walk to the Pokémon laboratory. In fact, it was so exhilarating that Ash and Brock were having trouble keeping up with Dawn! While watching Dawn run down a familiar road, Ash couldn't help but chuckle at her persistence. He wanted to yell out for her to slow down, but he realized that he would have felt the same way if the roles were reversed. Dawn suddenly stopped in her tracks with Ash and Brock stopping right behind her, being careful not to knock into her. They were wondering what had Dawn in such a trance. Ash looked to see a Glameow sitting in front of them with a smile on her face. It was smiling at Dawn—and Dawn was smiling back. Brock and Ash didn't know if they should say or do anything until realization hit that Dawn _knew_ this Glameow.

"Glameow!" Dawn beamed. Glameow jumped into Dawn's arms, excited that she was finally home. But while Glameow was glad that Dawn was home, she became tense when she saw Ash, Brock and Pikachu. Dawn petted Glameow to soothe her and within a split second, Glameow relaxed. "It's so good to see you."

"Is this your Glameow?" Brock speculated.

"Actually, it's mine." A voice said prompting Ash and Brock to look up to see the figure. It was none other than Dawn's mother Johanna! Dawn got up with Glameow and headed towards her mother with a smile.

"It's so great to see you mom!" Dawn engulfed her mother in a hug. Ash looked from Brock to Pikachu before looking back at the scene in front of them. Ash and Brock had met Dawn's mother before, but Ash never met Dawn's mother as Dawn's boyfriend.

"How are you dear?" Johanna wondered.

"I'm doing great mom." Dawn replied. Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulders in order to help Ash break the ice. He sat in front of Johanna, twitching his ears playfully hoping to get a smile from her face.

"Hello Pikachu." Johanna picked up the electric mouse Pokémon and started scratching behind his ears, prompting Pikachu's smile to widen.

"Pika!" Pikachu purred. Johanna looked up to see Ash and Brock but confusion painted her face.

"Dawn, I thought you said there was 4 of you?" Johanna turned to her daughter.

"Gary's back at the lab with Professor Oak." Dawn explained. "He's working on a research project."

"Ah, yes." Johanna remembered hearing about Professor Oak's grandson, Gary. "Being the grandson of Professor Oak are big shoes to fill."

"Pika, Pi?" Pikachu questioned. Everyone turned to Pikachu, including Ash whose face was beginning to blush a bright red.

"What's wrong Pikachu?" Johanna asked.

"Pika, Pika Pi!" Pikachu answered. Dawn finally understood what Pikachu wanted the whole time.

"Pikachu is asking if he could have a battle with you." Dawn translated for her mother. "That is, if Ash is okay with it." The attention soon turned to Ash who finally understood what Pikachu was doing. Pikachu was trying to break the ice to get Ash more comfortable around Dawn's mother.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea." Johanna smiled. "That is, if it's okay with you Ash."

"Sure, if it's all right with you." Ash answered back. Johanna let out a slight chuckle seeing how gracious Ash was being about it. Dawn and Brock knew that if it was anyone else, Ash would jump at the chance for a battle but since it was Dawn's mother, he was trying to be as well-mannered as possible.

"Sounds good." Johanna led Ash, Dawn and Brock to an open space in Dawn's backyard, which would have made the perfect training ground for any Pokémon. Johanna planned on going with Glameow for the battle. Ash was going with his trusted friend Pikachu.

"The battle between Ash from Pallet Town and Johanna from Twinleaf Town will now begin. Both are allowed to use one Pokémon each. The first Pokémon unable to battle ends the match! Are the rules clear?" Brock explained the rules to Ash and Johanna. Both of them nodded their heads in which Brock gave them the OK to go.

"All right Pikachu; let's start this off with a thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. While Dawn and Brock knew that Glameow would have trouble trying to get out of the way of the thunderbolt, Johanna simply stood there with a smug smile on her face.

"Glameow, use Iron Tail to deflect the thunderbolt." Johanna told her Pokémon. Pikachu's thunderbolt went flying right towards Glameow but Glameow's tail simply glowed and hit Pikachu's thunderbolt away as if it was a piece of paper flying in the wind. Ash stood there dumbfounded for a moment, wondering what had just happened. He shook off his confusion in order to give Pikachu his next move.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail." Ash instructed. Pikachu's tail started to glow as he ran towards Glameow with a determined look on his face.

"Glameow, dodge it and use Shadow Ball." Johanna countered. A dark shadow ball came right towards Pikachu and Ash didn't have much time to think.

"Cut the shadow ball in half with Iron Tail, then go for Glameow." Ash ordered. Dawn and Brock watching in awe as Pikachu came back down and sliced the shadow ball in half. Pikachu's next order of business was Glameow. Pikachu ran towards Glameow with Iron Tail once again and this time had a direct hit that sent Glameow flying back. Glameow quickly tried to shake it off but it had to do it fast, or Pikachu was going to get another chance to attack.

"Glameow, use Shadow Claw." Johanna kept her eyes on Pikachu, trying to see if Pikachu had a weak point, and if he did when to attack.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash instructed again. Pikachu and Glameow both headed right for each other, but when the Iron Tail and Shadow Claw collided, it sent both Pikachu and Glameow flying. The impact of the attack was too much for both of them. Pikachu and Glameow took time to get up in which both Dawn and Brock thought the two moves were more powerful than anyone predicted.

"Glameow, use Swift!" Johanna looked at her Pokémon to make sure that she was okay. Glameow went up in the air as the starred attack move started flying from her tail. Pikachu had no way of getting around it, so eventually it hit Pikachu and made him fly backwards. Ash knew he was running out of time. He had to think of something, a way on how he could beat Johanna. But how was he going to beat Johanna if she was a powerful Pokémon contest coordinator? Just like that, it dawned on Ash how he was going to approach this battle. He wasn't going to finish this as if it was a regular gym battle. He was dealing with a Pokémon coordinator, which meant he needed to think as if it was a Pokémon _contest_.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail but this time spin!" Ash said. A smile plastered on Dawn's face watching Pikachu head towards Glameow with grace—and with power. _I knew he was going to figure it out eventually,_ Dawn thought. Johanna was quite shocked, especially when Pikachu knocked Glameow into the ground. "Now, use Volt Tackle and Thunderbolt at the same time!"

"Glameow, dodge…" but before Johanna could get the words out, Pikachu had already gotten to Glameow, and Glameow was flying through the air. Glameow landed in front of Johanna and this time, she was unable to get up.

"Glameow is unable to battle. Pikachu wins! The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" Brock pointed towards Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu fist pumped in the air while Ash gave a proud smile to his Pokémon. Johanna picked up Glameow and gave her a hug, letting her know that she had done her best.

"Being Top 4 in the Sinnoh League?" Johanna gave Ash an approving smile. "That sounds about right."

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu responded, jumping back on Ash's shoulder.

"Your Pikachu is very strong." Johanna complimented. "I can see that you raised your Pikachu right."

"Thank you." Ash said almost sounding dumbfounded. He recollected himself and turned to his friend. "Pikachu and I have improved our bond over the years, haven't we buddy?"

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu agreed with his trainer. Dawn knew that Ash had finally gotten to her mother. They were able to bond over Pokémon, which was something she had wanted. Now, Dawn was hoping that she could have a talk with her mom to see how she _really _felt about Ash.

* * *

Dawn and Johanna worked on watering the plants inside the house while Ash and Pikachu stayed outside to train. Dawn knew that Ash was all about making his Pokémon stronger. That was what a good trainer was—at least in Dawn's mind. The silence was almost too much for Dawn to handle and Johanna sensed that her daughter wanted to talk about something—Ash.

"I'm very impressed with Ash, Dawn." Johanna started. She continued to water the flowers while giving her daughter a smile. "He's a very strong Pokémon trainer, and he adapts to situations quite well. I thought that I almost had a chance to beat him, but then again I'm not as young as I used to be."

"But you're still a great trainer mom." Dawn assured her mother. "I promise."

"That's kind of you to say." Johanna put the watering can down and motioned Dawn to follow her to the sofa. If they were going to talk about whether Johanna approved Ash, then there had to be no distractions. "Ash has something special that most trainers don't have. I can't quite put my finger on it but to me he seems like a special young man. He's very respectful and nice. I like him."

"Well, he was really nervous about seeing you again—this time as my boyfriend." Dawn told her mother. Johanna knew that Ash was nervous. She could sense it.

"Well, he doesn't have to be nervous anymore." Johanna assured her daughter. "He passed the test with flying colors. As long as you're happy then I'm happy." Dawn was relieved to hear that her mother approved of her relationship. She wouldn't admit it but she was quite nervous about how it would go as well.

"We've been through so much together." Dawn admitted. Johanna knew exactly how Dawn felt. She was a young girl once too, you know.

"I can see that. There's also one other thing that I noticed from the battle." Johanna let out a small chuckle before continuing. "Throughout the battle, he couldn't help but lay his eyes on you. He loves you very much. I can tell."

"Well, I'm glad." Dawn was relieved to get that subject out of the way, but there was still something else that was bothering her.

"Is there something else you want to talk about?" Johanna studied Dawn's face.

"I was just wondering, did you hear about the Pokémon magician that stole the Vaporeon from the Pokémon Center?" Dawn inquired.

Johanna nodded her head "Yes, I did. It was all over the news."

"There was a poster on one of the trees on the way to the Pokémon lab." For some reason, Dawn continued to feel bothered by the whole situation.

"That man seems like nothing but trouble." Johanna shook her head.

"I don't want the other Pokémon to face the same fate as that poor Vaporeon." Dawn was getting a feeling that there was something she could do, but Johanna already was one-step ahead of what her daughter was trying to imply.

"Dawn, I don't think you should get involved." She sternly informed her daughter. "Officer Jenny is doing everything she can to help that poor girl and her Vaporeon."

"All right." Dawn didn't want to press on the subject any longer. Johanna looked out the window to see Piplup and Buneary playing on the back of Ash's Torterra.

"Say, I have an idea. Why don't you go and play with your Pokémon?" Johanna motioned out the window and Dawn followed her mother's gaze. "They seem to be having a lot of fun, and it will give you something to do while Ash finishes training Pikachu."

"Are you sure?" Dawn wondered. Johanna put her hand up with a smile while motioning her daughter to head outside.

"Go on, I'll take care of everything else." Johanna insisted.

"All right then." Dawn quickly nodded her head, heading out the door to play with her friends. Dawn headed out the door to watch Ash and Pikachu train, but there was something bothering her about the Pokémon magician, as if there was something that was going to happen. As she continued to ponder over it, she didn't notice there was something in the bushes—and it was watching her.


	4. A Plan Unleashed

**A/N: Since it's raining (and Hurricane Sandy is supposed to come sometime soon), I decided to write a new chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon...but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

Dawn continued to stare at her Piplup and Buneary playing with Torterra, observing that they were hiding in the tree that was attached to Torterra's back. She noticed Ash recently finished his training and was now staring out into the horizon. Dawn figured that since Ash had completed his training, he wouldn't mind spending some time with her. Ash turned his head towards Dawn, motioning her to come towards him. Dawn sat down as Ash wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Pikachu took his spot next to Ash while Dawn and Ash stared out at the sun that was beginning to set.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked. Dawn turned to him, knowing that he could tell something was up. For some reason, Dawn was still obsessing over the Pokémon magician. Dawn leaned against her boyfriend's chest while heaving a sigh.

"I was just thinking about that poor Pokémon that was taken." Dawn sighed. "She must be so alone and scared." Ash gave Dawn a comforting smile, trying to cheer her up.

"But there's nothing we can do about it now." Ash tried to reassure Dawn. "Officer Jenny is going to take care of it." Dawn was honestly getting tired of hearing that Officer Jenny was going to take care of things. Everyone had been telling her that things were going to work out. Gary, her mother and now Ash—and frankly Dawn was getting tired of hearing it.

"But what if she doesn't know where to find him at this point?" Dawn worried.

"I know that you're worrying about that Pokémon, but everyone is working hard to get that girl's Vaporeon back." Ash then looked away as if he was about to admit something. "I don't like this as much as much as you do." Dawn quickly changed her face expression to try to match Ash's confidence in Officer Jenny.

"They'll catch her, right?" Dawn wondered.

"Yep, they will." Ash then tightened his grip around Dawn's arm as if to ease her. "No need to worry, right?"

"You're right." Dawn grabbed Ash's hand, locking their fingers together. "I just have to stay positive."

"That's the Dawn I know." Ash encouraged her. He then made a serious face while turning away, almost looking unsure of himself. "So, what does your mother think of me?"

"She _loves_ you." Dawn assured him. She propped her head on his shoulders as Ash's face turned a bright red. "You did good." Dawn and Ash turned to each other, leaning into kiss—until they noticed a young Pokémon trainer running towards Officer Jenny's building, his face flushed with tears. Ash and Dawn continued to look at the child crying; wondering what could have gotten him so worked up. While staring at the kid, they didn't notice Gary and Eevee running towards them.

"Hey, Ash." Gary walked over to Ash and Dawn, putting his hands on his knees while out of breath. "There's a surprise for you back at the Pokémon lab."

"For me?" Ash pointed a finger to his chest, sounding dumbfounded.

"Pika, Pika?" Pikachu repeated Ash, pointing one of his small fingers towards his best friend.

"Yeah, come on." Gary motioned. Ash and Dawn stood up from the ground to follow Gary to the Pokémon lab. Dawn turned around to see Officer Jenny coming out of the building, reassuring the little boy that everything was going to be all right. Dawn didn't like the fact that the boy felt helpless, but what could they do?

* * *

At the Pokémon lab, Gary led Ash and Dawn to the room where they had met Professor Oak earlier that day. Ash didn't know what the big deal was. Why were they heading to the room? Ash scratched the back of his head while Pikachu shared the same look of confusion.

"I don't get it, why are we…" Ash didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Pikachu quickly jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran across the other end of the room. Ash followed Pikachu and when he looked up, he saw his mother Delia Ketchum, standing before him with Pikachu in her arms.

"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu excitedly greeted Delia and started licking her cheek.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Ash sounded confused.

"I just came to see my little man who placed in the Top 4 in the Sinnoh League!" Delia engulfed Ash into a tight hug, pinching his cheeks in the process. "I am so proud of you sweetie."

"Mom, it's not a big deal." Ash tried to speak.

"Why yes it is!" Delia spoke in a tone that sounded as if Ash had offended her. Before Ash could say anything that would further the conversation, the computer Gary was working on made a _ping_ noise. No one knew what that meant, no one except for Gary.

"My results came in." Gary cracked his knuckles as he sat down.

"What results?" Dawn questioned.

"My results on why Eevee can transform into 7 different Pokémon." Gary answered. "Eevee's DNA structure is different from most Pokémon and can adapt into almost anything, thus making it the only Pokémon that can turn into almost any type."

"That sounds incredible." Ash walked over to one side of Gary to look at the computer screen.

"I did a structure test on Eevee's DNA." Gary continued. "Eevee's DNA can make it one of the most powerful Pokémon out there. I just have to put it all together." Professor Oak walked towards Gary, clapping his hand on Gary's back in pride.

"This is going to the Pokémon researchers committee." Professor Oak beamed at his grandson. "I knew you had it in you Gary." Gary blushed while looking at the computer screen. His work was almost complete. Gary typed a couple things more into the computer before becoming satisfied. He opened his email, composing a letter to the Pokémon researchers committee, but Dawn wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"Gary, are you sure it's a good idea to send an email with all that information?" Dawn enquired.

"Sure it is." Gary didn't get why Dawn was worried about his research getting out. _What could possibly go wrong, _Gary thought to himself. He typed the last bit of the email and sent it. Ash and Pikachu started heading towards the door before turning back to the others.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need to get something to eat." Ash sheepishly said. _Oh Ash, _Dawn thought with a smile on her face. _He's always hungry._

"That sounds like a good idea." Gary smiled. He closed his email, took off his lab jacket and reached for his book bag. "Let's go." The others followed Ash out the door but Gary turned his head back to his research. _Why am I being so paranoid? _Gary wondered. _Everything's going to be fine_. Gary shrugged his shoulders and left the room, closing the door behind him. If Gary had known the dangers of his research, he wouldn't have been so nonchalant.

* * *

A dark building on the edge of Sinnoh looked untouched, as if no one had been there in years. A train pulled up from what was left of the tracks, a sly grin plastered on the Pokémon magician's face. He exited the train as it pulled to a stop, entering the building that was in front of him. As he walked to one of the offices, he noticed Pokéball's on lockdown, possibly containing the most legendary Pokémon that the world wasn't ready to face as of yet. The Pokémon magician entered the room, where a gigantic chair faced towards the gigantic screen. As the Pokémon magician looked more closely, he realized it was research recorded by none other than Professor Oak's grandson. The figure turned around in his chair—and the figure was none other than the head of Team Rocket, Giovanni.

"Did you get me the Pokémon I have been looking for?" Giovanni questioned. The Pokémon magician threw the Pokéball towards Giovanni, knowing that a part of the plan was complete.

"I did all of my research on that little girl's Vaporeon." The Pokémon magician answered. "That's the most powerful Vaporeon you will ever find. Not the girl or her parents know about its true untapped potential." Giovanni handed the Pokéball to one of the Team Rocket grunts before turning his attention towards the Pokémon Magician.

"It took you 6 months to look for the strongest Vaporeon?" Giovanni's voice sounded deadly. "That won't do, now will it?"

"I don't get why you're even looking for the strongest Vaporeon." The Pokémon magician spoke. "It's just a Pokémon." Giovanni smirked at the Pokémon magician before turning back to the screen to observe Gary's research.

"It took a lot of work just to hack the Pokémon researchers email account and to find all the glorious information on Eevee's evolved forms." Giovanni simply said. "This Oak kid has been working on this research for months, sending whatever he could to the head of the researchers, and I have been following along every step of the way. I need a Pokémon that will evolve into whatever I choose. A Pokémon that can evolve into all forms; into fire, into ice. I need a Pokémon like Eevee. And knowing that he is basing all his research on his own Pokémon, makes his Eevee extremely strong. I need you to do me a favor."

"Whatever you need my liege." The Pokémon magician bowed.

"I need you to steal this Eevee. Whatever you have to do—steal that Pokémon and make sure Gary never finds you." Giovanni chuckled.

"But, he's traveling with that kid that was in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League, what's his name?" The Pokémon magician tried to think before snapping his fingers. "Ash! Ash Ketchum."

"I'm aware of that brat." Giovanni cringed. Ash had stopped many of his plots before, but this was one full proof. This plan was so full proof that not even Ash could win this time. "Find a way to defeat them. When there's a will, there's a way." The Pokémon magician continued to eye the research on the big, trying to process what Giovanni was telling him.

"I could use _any_ way to defeat them?" The Pokémon magician finally asked.

"Any way." Giovanni got up from his chair, walking to the powerful Pokéball that was in the cage. "Even if it means—taking this." He threw the Pokéball to the Pokémon magician who gave a shrewd smile. With that, the Pokémon magician was out the door ready to take on the next phase of Giovanni's plan. There was no way that Ash was going to stop Giovanni. Not this time.


	5. A Stolen Eevee

**A/N: I've been cooped up in my house all day so surprise! Another chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but I wish I did. Reviews are appreciated. :)**

* * *

That night Dawn, Gary and Brock spent their time in front of the television watching a news report about the mysterious Pokémon magician that was causing havoc throughout the Sinnoh region. Dawn didn't understand how someone could be so heartless as to steal someone's Pokémon. _Well, _Dawn thought to herself. _Team Rocket does it on a daily basis_. Brock was busy reading a pamphlet from the nearest market while Gary was busy scratching behind Eevee's ear (she insisted that Gary do so). Dawn noticed that there was one main person missing from the living room—where in the Pokémon world was Ash Ketchum?

"Did anyone see Ash?" Dawn spoke up.

"Yeah, I was wondering that myself." Gary stopped scratching behind Eevee's ear to answer Dawn. Eevee wasn't amused and tried to grab Gary's hand to get him to continue.

"He was outside with Pikachu working on Volt Tackle." Brock replied. "Ever since he got back from the Pokémon lab he's been out there working."

"Being a Pokémon trainer means never taking a break, huh?" Dawn clutched a nearby pillow from the sofa to her chest. Just thinking about Ash made her heart melt.

"I guess not." Gary grinned. Just then, a knock on the door happened. Gary and Brock both turned their attention towards the entrance while Dawn stood up from the sofa to get the door. It was almost 10 in the evening. Who could possibly be at the door this time at night? Dawn opened the door to find her good friend Zoey from the Sinnoh contest circuit standing on her doorstep.

"Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed as the two girls hugged. The mention of the name made Gary turn his head a little too quickly. Gary was almost certain that he was going to get whiplash. Gary stood up to get a better look hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was still Zoey standing in the doorway.

"Z…Zoey?" Gary felt like he was going to choke on his own saliva just from saying her name. Zoey turned her attention to Gary, letting out a widespread smile.

"Hey Gary. How's it going?" Zoey waved towards him. Gary had one of two options. Either he could stand there, tell Zoey how he felt or he could panic. He chose to panic.

"Gee, is anyone else thirsty?" Gary said rather quickly, his face still red. "I'll go and see if Dawn's mom has more drinks in the kitchen!" Gary then dashed out of the living room, leaving the other teenagers and Eevee staring in confusion.

"He's really glad that you're here." Brock finally spoke after a long awkward silence.

"I'll take that as an okay then." Zoey shrugged her shoulders before turning back to Dawn. "Do you mind if I come in? I wanted to tell Ash congratulations on placing in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh league."

"Sure, come on in." Dawn extended the door to give Zoey enough room to enter.

"I saw the whole match on T.V and I was sure Ash was going to give me a heart attack." Zoey chuckled. While the girls were talking, Brock turned his attention towards Eevee who was still a little stunned that her owner ran out of the room like that.

"Eevee, do you mind finding Gary and bringing him back here?" Brock asked.

"Eevee!" Eevee nodded her head, off to find Gary and bring him back to talk to Zoey. Eevee walked all over the house, passing each room until she realized the back door was open. _Gary must have gone through there, _Eevee thought to herself. Eevee ran towards the opening of the back door only to hear Gary ranting about who knows what. She decided to get closer to the door to try to hear everything word for word and to see if she could help.

"Why did I do that?" Gary spoke to himself in what he thought was a hushed whisper. "Why is it that I'm so high and mighty when it comes to Pokémon research but with girls I'm so clueless?" Gary buried his head in his hands, wishing that he could have the last 5 minutes back.

"Eevee?" Eevee spoke up, making Gary quickly turn his head to find that Eevee heard every single word.

"Eevee!" Gary jumped up but she seemed unfazed. She walked towards Gary hoping to calm him down. "You didn't hear all that, did you?" Gary was hoping Eevee didn't hear a word of his rant but she nodded her head. _So she did hear_, Gary thought to himself. He then decided if he couldn't talk to anyone about his problems, then he could at least speak to Eevee. "I'm such a loser when it comes to girls." Gary sighed.

"Eevee!" Eevee slapped Gary's arm with her tail before giving him a look that said 'enough with the pity party!' Gary realized that Eevee might have had a point. Gary could go in there and he could go tell Zoey how he felt about her. He was going to do it! He was—until he looked into the distance and saw a bright light coming in his direction.

"What on earth is that?" Gary asked more to Eevee than to himself.

"Eevee." Eevee replied as if to say 'I don't know.'

"We should probably go and find Ash and get him inside. Something doesn't feel right." Gary wondered how he was going to find his friend until he noticed a bright yellow light from the corner of his eye. _That must be Pikachu practicing Volt Tackle_, Gary thought to himself. Gary and Eevee walked in the direction of the yellow light only to find that Gary was right after all. Pikachu was busy trying to perfect Volt Tackle on an innocent training scarecrow that Johanna and Dawn used to help their Pokémon concentrate.

"All right, one more time." Ash turned to his best friend. Pikachu nodded his head and started running towards the scarecrow. Pikachu hit the scarecrow head on with the Volt Tackle before somersaulting back towards Ash. Ash clapped his hands to his friend while Pikachu took a bow. Gary didn't want to interrupt Ash's training but something felt wrong just from being outside.

"Hey Ash." Gary called out. "Dawn's beginning to worry about you. Let's go inside." Gary didn't want to say the real reason that he felt it was time to get them inside, but the excuse he made was good enough for Ash.

"All right, we'll be inside in a moment." Ash promised. Before Ash could grab Pikachu and head to the house, he turned his head to see the same white light that scared Gary off moments before. "What's that light?" Ash examined.

"I'm not sure." Gary admitted. Gary and Ash weren't in the mood to have a shining light in their face but they knew that something was going to happen. They've both had that gut feeling before. The light blinded them for a moment, but when they were able to get their sight back, they saw none other than the Pokémon magician standing before them—and from what Gary knew, he wanted something.

"Who…who are you?" Ash disguised his fear with shock while looking at the Pokémon magician.

"That's the Pokémon magician." Gary explained to Ash. "He's the one that's been all over the news and stealing other people's Pokémon."

"Pika." Pikachu silently whispered.

"So you may have heard of me." The Pokémon magician walked around Ash and Gary, trying to scare them. "You don't understand that I've heard of you. I have heard of how you are both strong, how your bond with Pokémon is immense. You…" The Pokémon magician pointed to Ash before continuing. "You placed in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League. And you…" the Pokémon magician pointed to Gary before carrying on. "You're the grandson of one of the greatest professors ever, Professor Oak. That Pikachu is the strongest that I have ever seen. And that cute little Eevee…" The Pokémon magician's face turned to Gary while emitting a devilish grin. "Is exactly what we've been looking for." It dawned on Gary that the whole reason he was here was so he could steal his Eevee.

"Eevee? Why do you want Eevee?" Gary exclaimed, sounding braver than he actually felt.

"Eevee?" Eevee pointed to herself, not understanding what was going on here.

"I want your Eevee because it can do something that no other Pokémon can do." The Pokémon magician said.

"And…what would that be?" Gary sounded unsure as he asked the question to the evil magician.

"It's form. It is the only Pokémon that can evolve into seven different Pokémon! With any evolution stone, your Eevee could be the most powerful Pokémon in the entire world." Ash and Gary had enough of the magician's tactics.

"I like my Eevee just the way she is! I don't need your help!" Gary fumed.

"And I'm pretty sure that Eevee doesn't want to evolve." Ash added in anger.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu chimed in.

"So thanks, but no thanks." Gary growled. The Pokémon magician walked towards Gary and before he knew it, the magician grabbed him by the collar to pull him closer.

"I'm almost certain that it wasn't an offer." The magician threw Gary to the ground to retrieve a Pokéball from his back pocket. Gary kept a brave face while the Pokémon magician threw the Pokéball into the air and out popped a legendary Pokémon. Gary didn't recognize it, but judging from Ash and Pikachu's faces, they sure knew.

"What Pokémon is that?" Gary pointed to the air sounding confused.

"Arceus." Ash silently answered but it was loud enough for Gary to hear.

"And how do _you_ know about Arceus." Gary wanted to know.

"It's a long story and I don't think this is the appropriate time to get into it." Ash snapped.

"What's wrong Ash? Is Arceus too big for you to handle?" The Pokémon magician taunted the teenager. Gary turned to his Eevee with a begging look on his face.

"Eevee, I need you to run." Gary pleaded to his friend. Eevee was frozen in place, not sure what to do. She was afraid if she left Gary that he'll get hurt, but she was also afraid of what the Pokémon magician would do if she listened to what Gary said.

"She's scared." Ash reasoned with Gary. "She's not going to move."

"EEVEE! RUN! NOW! GO AWAY!" Gary yelled at her. He never had to raise his voice towards Eevee and it pained him that he had to do it right now. However, Eevee still wasn't budging. Ash knew that there was something he had to do or else the magician was just going to capture her and call it a day.

"She's not going to run?" Ash took a step back and then another. Pikachu understood what Ash's plan was so he began to follow his trainers lead. Ash grabbed Eevee from her paralyzed state and started running as fast as he could with Pikachu in tow. The Pokémon magician had to admit, he was a little startled to find so much bravery in one teenager, but he still had to get the Eevee or Giovanni would be furious.

"Arceus! Go after that boy!" The Pokémon magician growled. Arceus quickly did as the Pokémon master said as it started gaining on Ash, Pikachu and Eevee. Gary couldn't let Arceus hurt Ash or Eevee, so he pulled out a Pokéball from his back pocket and threw it in earnest.

"Umbreon! Let's go!" Gary screamed. Umbreon popped out of the Pokéball to find Arceus gaining quickly on his friends. "Use Shadow Ball on Arceus!" Umbreon quickly let out a purplish shadow ball, which hit Arceus square in the back. The Pokémon magician wasn't amused with Gary trying to save his friends—or distracting Arceus. When Arceus tried to come back and hit Gary, the Pokémon magician became furious.

"Forget this brat! Go find Eevee!" The Pokémon magician bellowed. Arceus did what it was told, heading off to find Ash and Pikachu. The Pokémon magician held out a dark Pokéball, one that Gary had never seen before but knew there was something powerful in there. The Pokémon magician threw it and when it popped open, it revealed a Mewtwo, standing before Gary. Gary automatically became frightened, and didn't bother to hide his fear.

"You have a Mewtwo?!" Gary exclaimed.

"What do you think?" The Pokémon magician evilly chuckled. Gary started to back away, hoping that the magician wasn't noticing how frightened he was.

"What's wrong Gary? Are you afraid of Mewtwo?" The Pokémon magician cackled. Gary tried to put on a brave face for Umbreon since he didn't want his Pokémon to become frightened.

"Umbreon! Shadow ball!" Gary commanded.

"Mewtwo, why don't you show Gary and Umbreon what a _real_ Shadow ball is?" The Pokémon magician turned to the legendary Pokémon. Umbreon and Mewtwo let their shadow balls fly at the same time, the only difference was Mewtwo's completely phased Umbreon's and hit the dark type Pokémon square in the abdomen. Umbreon flew into one of the trees and landed on the ground with a _THUD_ noise.

"UMBREON!" Gary screamed, afraid that his friend was injured. Gary knew that if he was going to find Ash on his own then he was going to have to make a break for it. Gary began running in the direction that Ash and Pikachu went but only earned a slight chortle from the Pokémon magician.

"Mewtwo! Take care of that little brat while I find the other one." Mewtwo happily obliged with what his master told him and blasted Gary with a powerful Shadow Ball. Gary fell to the ground in tremendous pain, trying to keep consciousness while the Pokémon magician headed off the find Ash.

_One down, one to go_.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu continued to run along the forest area of Twinleaf town with Eevee in their clutches. Ash didn't want to see anything happen to his friend's Pokémon. If anything did happened to Eevee, he would never be able to forgive himself. Worse, he wouldn't be able to face Gary. As Ash attempted to turn the corner, he noticed Arceus standing right before him. Ash turned to his faithful friend, hoping that Pikachu was up for a battle with a legendary Pokémon.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash told his friend. Pikachu's cheeks lit up with electricity and let the extremely powerful thunderbolt hit Arceus. The only issue was Arceus looked unfazed by the thunder attack. Ash heard a snicker from behind him, which meant one thing—the Pokémon magician was there.

"Did you think that was really going to work?" The magician taunted Ash. "Eevee is going to come with me." Gary was nowhere to be found, which put Ash in a worried frenzy.

"What did you to Gary?" Ash demanded.

"Him? Oh, what I did to him isn't important." The magician feigned innocence. Ash turned back around but noticed Mewtwo was in his way. Ash had to face facts. He was corned and he knew it.

"You better leave us alone!" Ash yelled.

"Please, like your attacks have any effect on me?" The magician turned back around letting a smile creep on his face. "Mewtwo, Arceus. Finish our friends off, will you?" Ash and Pikachu tried not to look frightened but they couldn't help it. The next thing they knew, Mewtwo and Arceus attacked them with powerful energy, and Ash became weakened. Ash, Pikachu and Eevee all collapsed onto the ground, knocked out stone cold, which gave the magician the perfect chance to pick up Eevee and leave.

"Come along Mewtwo, Arceus. Our work here is done." The magician started heading back into the forest but noticed that Gary was attempting to get up from the ground.

"Eevee, not Eevee. Please." Gary pleaded.

"Mewtwo, please take care of the brat again? We can't have him following us, now can we?" Mewtwo released a ginormous shadow ball, which hit Gary once again, and this time, placing him unconscious. The magician along with Arceus and Mewtwo walked away from the scene with an unconscious Eevee—and left the two "heroes" in a helpless state. However, what the magician didn't notice was Umbreon using all of his strength to try to get himself back to the house to get some help.

* * *

Back at the house Brock, Zoey and Dawn continued to catch up with one another but in the back of their minds, Gary was still missing from the action and so was Ash. Dawn was about to speak when she heard something scratching on the front of the door. Dawn had to wonder what could have been out there. Maybe a Pokémon was probably hungry. Dawn walked over to the door with Zoey in tow, hoping to find out what could be on the other side. Dawn opened the door but a gasp suddenly exited from her mouth after seeing Umbreon in in such a terrible state.

"Umbreon!" Dawn leaned down to try to tend to Umbreon. Zoey's face turned stone cold after realization dawned on her.

"That's Gary's Umbreon, Dawn." Zoey began to figure the worst. If Umbreon was in this state, then where was Gary?

"Where do you think Gary and Ash are?" Dawn turned to her friends.

"We better go and find them. Umbreon doesn't look so good." Brock picked up Umbreon to place him on the sofa while they went to find Gary and Ash. As soon as they found their friends, Brock knew he had to call the Pokémon Center. Before they were able to head out the back door, Professor Oak emerged from the front door looking worried. Something had to have happened to Gary to have Professor Oak so scared and defenseless.

"Some Pokémon trainers heard a fight with the Pokémon magician. Please tell me that Gary is in here and he's safe and sound." Brock walked over to place a hand on Professor Oak's shoulder.

"We're going to find them." Brock promised.

"Them?" Professor Oak turned to Dawn and Zoey before laying eyes on Brock.

"Ash is missing too." Zoey admitted. Dawn ran out the back door hoping to find Gary and Ash in one piece, hoping that both of them were all right. Dawn saw a figure lying on the ground towards the far end of the forest and the worst came to her mind. As she walked towards the figure, it became clearer—the figure was Gary.

"Gary!" Dawn shouted. Brock, Professor Oak and Zoey rushed out after hearing Dawn's outburst. Professor Oak reached Gary first, followed by Brock then Zoey.

"Gary! Gary! Wake up!" Professor Oak tried to nudge his grandson, but to no avail. Brock leaned over to feel a pulse on Gary, just to make sure he wasn't dead. After a few moments, Brock turned to his friends with a saddened look on his face.

"Gary's alive but his pulse is faint." Dawn then came to realization that if Gary was here then Ash must be in the same condition as well. Dawn got up from her position and ran into the forest with Brock following her. Dawn couldn't possibly handle the fact of seeing Ash in a state of unconsciousness. After looking for a couple of minutes, Dawn saw Ash and Pikachu lying on the ground not making any movements.

"ASH! PIKACHU!" Dawn screeched. She sat down by Ash's side while Brock tried to check their pulse. He heaved out a sigh of relief after checking up on Pikachu.

"They're both alive but we need to get Gary and Ash to the hospital and Pikachu and Umbreon to the Pokémon center." Brock informed Dawn. Dawn felt tears stream down her face watching her boyfriend lay in a coma like state on the ground. There was a need to worry, and this was a time where Dawn had to worry the most.


	6. Recovering For The Journey Ahead

**A/N: Here we go! Chapter 6! Woo-hoo! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

At the hospital, Dawn's mind wandered to many subjects. She wondered why Ash and Gary were the main targets of the Pokémon magician's evil bidding. She wondered if Gary's research was what led the Pokémon magician to find them. Worse of all, she worried if Ash was going to be okay after taking a brutal hit by who knows what. Dawn fiddled with Ash's hat in her hands, tracing her fingers around the shapes and crevices.

"I don't get it." Delia's voice mixed with anger and confusion. "Who would want to hurt Ash and Gary? What would those two do that someone would react violently?" No one knew how to answer her. They were still busy trying to figure out what the Pokémon magician was doing.

"Hey." Zoey piped up from the corner. "Did anyone notice that Eevee wasn't with Gary?"

"You know what? You're right!" Dawn said after thinking for a moment. "That means—where _is_ poor Eevee?"

"Oh no." Brock's mind began to race. "You don't think the Pokémon magician has her, do you?"

"What do you think they want with poor Eevee?" Zoey asked, her mind soon thinking about Gary.

"With her in that evil man's clutches, anything can happen." Dawn began to fear the worst for poor Eevee. "And if anything happens to Eevee, then Gary will be so heartbroken. Gary loves Eevee very much."

"When you think about it, Gary and Ash both love their Pokémon in almost the exact same way." Zoey began to analyze.

"I guess that's what happens when they have an effect on one another." Dawn gave a small smile while thinking about Ash. "It's odd how they went from being bitter rivals to almost being best friends."

"Actually Dawn, when Ash and Gary were younger they were the best of friends." Professor Oak began recalling back to Ash and Gary's childhood days. "They were great friends until Pokémon tore them apart. I am actually fortunate for Gary's career change since he and Ash buried the hatchet. They're both good at what they do."

"Well, I just hope that nothing happens to Ash. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him." Dawn looked down at Ash's hat in her hands before clutching it close to her. "I love him." Dawn didn't understand why everyone's eyes started staring at her at that moment. _Did I say something that I wasn't supposed to?_

"Did you just say—you love him?" Zoey tried to get the words out. Dawn didn't see what the big deal was. They had been dating for 6 months and she was bound to get an attraction that was more than "like" at some point. Thinking about Ash made Dawn tear up and start crying. Professor Oak, who was the closest to Dawn, patted her back while Dawn continued to sob.

"Ash is going to be fine, Dawn. I promise." Professor Oak tried to comfort her. The nurse came into the room getting Dawn, Brock, Zoey, Delia and Professor Oak's attention.

"Good news on Ash and Gary." The nurse flipped a piece of paper on her clipboard, trying to read Gary and Ash's information. "They're both going to be okay but they look like they were attacked by a powerful Pokémon. One hit from a normal Pokémon wouldn't make them faint like that."

"Do you know what kind of Pokémon it was?" Dawn wondered.

"The Pokémon's not in the system." The nurse responded. "Anyway, they're both okay which is probably good news to you."

"Is it okay if can see them?" Brock asked.

"Sure." The nurse nodded her head. "Ash is in room 2. Gary is in room 4." The group followed the nurse to where Gary and Ash were recuperating. As soon as they reached room 2, Dawn turned to Delia who simply nodded her head. She knew how important Dawn was to Ash, so it made sense to have Dawn the first person he saw when he woke up. Dawn entered the room, clutching Ash's hat tightly not sure of what she was going to see. She saw Ash hooked up to monitors while he slept soundly. _He looks so cute when he's sleeping, _Dawn thought to herself. She walked over to an unoccupied chair to sit down and patiently wait until Ash awoke. It didn't take very long for him to wake up. As soon as Dawn grabbed his hand, his eyelids started to flutter. Dawn watched him for a couple of moments as he woke up and as soon as he knew he was awake, he tried to sit up from the bed, feeling a sharp pain in his side.

"Ash! You're okay!" Dawn beamed. Ash turned to her, trying to figure out what was going on. He couldn't quite remember what happened or why he landed in the hospital.

"Where…where am I?" Ash rubbed his head, suddenly becoming worried that his cap wasn't on his head. Dawn handed Ash his cap before she decided to answer his question. Ash's eyes widened as he began to look around the room. "E…Eevee!"

"Ash, relax." Dawn soothed her boyfriend. "You're in the hospital. As for Eevee, we don't know where she is." Ash looked to Dawn hoping that all she said was a lie but when her face expression didn't change, he knew that all she said was the sad truth.

"He got away." Ash softly said. Dawn had a feeling who Ash was talking about, but she had to be 100% certain.

"Ash, _who_ got away?" Dawn questioned.

"The Pokémon magician."

"You mean the one from the magazine's and posters?" Dawn further inquired. Ash slowly nodded his head, a guilty expression painting his face. "No need to worry. I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

"I guess." Ash couldn't help but feel extremely guilty for letting Gary's Eevee get captured by a magician that could have done whatever he wanted with her. Ash knew that he had to tell Gary the truth sometime. It might as well have been now. "Where's Gary?"

"He's in the hospital too." Dawn said. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Pikachu and Umbreon are at the Pokémon Center, but they're going to be okay too. I was really worried about you." Dawn ran a hand through Ash's hair while looking at him. She couldn't imagine what she would have done if she had lost him. He was so important to her.

"I'm sorry." Ash's voice began to tremble out of guilt—and possibly the fact that he was going to cry any minute. "I let Gary down. I let Eevee down. I let _you_ down"

"No you didn't." Dawn felt the need to snap Ash out of his funk. "You did all you could to protect Eevee. It's not your fault that the Pokémon magician got a hold of her. But we do have to get her back before he hurts her." Dawn leaned in and placed a kiss on Ash's forehead. She figured now was a good time to let him get some rest. "You need to get some rest, okay? Remember, you did all you could." Dawn got up from her chair to head towards the exit.

"Dawn?" Ash called out. Dawn turned back around to find Ash looking down at the cap in his hands.

"Yes?" Dawn answered.

"Do you think you can stay?" Ash asked. "I don't think I want to be alone right now." Dawn had secretly hoped that Ash would ask for her company. She went back down to sit in the chair and grabbed his hand softly. She couldn't help but look up when she noticed Ash trying to fight back tears.

"Come here." Dawn embraced Ash into a hug and just like that, Ash began to cry. "It's okay." Dawn continued to comfort Ash, but in the midst of him crying, she shed a few tears as well. She was worried that she was going to lose him. Ash was worried that he had let everyone down.

* * *

Professor Oak, Brock and Zoey had to wait for Gary to awaken from his sleep a little longer than Dawn had to wait for Ash. Professor Oak couldn't help but fear that it could have possibly been his fault that Gary was in this state. He was supposed to protect his grandson from all the dangers of the world. He couldn't help thinking that Gary's research was what caused all of this trouble. Gary's eyelids began to flutter, not knowing where he was and how he got there. Gary slowly awoke and tried to pull himself up, seeing that everyone was in the room with a worried expression on their faces.

"Grandpa?" Gary hoarsely said. Professor Oak breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Gary, thank goodness you're okay." Professor Oak patted Gary's back. Gary suddenly became alert when he noticed he was in a hospital bed.

"Where's Ash? Where's Pikachu and Umbreon and Eevee?" Gary suddenly panicked.

"Gary, calm down." Zoey comforted him before he received the bad news.

"Ash is going to be fine. He's in the hospital." Brock answered. Brock's face then turned serious when it came to mentioning the Pokémon. "Umbreon and Pikachu are at the Pokémon Center getting treated since they were roughed up a bit. Eevee…" Brock didn't have the heart to tell Gary what had happened to Eevee, which made Gary panic even more.

"Where is Eevee?!" Gary almost screamed.

"The Pokémon magician took Eevee." Professor Oak explained. He stooped down to Gary's eye level to try to calm him down. It was almost like looking at a young Gary who was afraid of the dark or was upset when something was stolen. He saw the same little boy in the eyes of a now 16-year-old boy who only wanted his Pokémon. "I'm so sorry kiddo." Gary felt like he wanted to cry. He felt like he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He was hurt, he was dejected and most of all he was distraught. His best friend was taken from him, and with him in the hospital, he felt like there was nothing he could do.

"Whatever happens to Eevee, you can't blame Ash for what happened, Gary." Zoey tried to make that point across. It never came into Gary's mind to blame Ash for what occurred. He didn't feel like it was Ash's fault that Eevee went missing.

"I don't blame Ash, Zoey." Gary assured his friends. "He did all he could to save Eevee." Gary looked at the heart monitor, wondering how Ash was doing. "How badly was Ash injured?"

"His injuries were far worse than yours." Professor Oak sounded somber. Gary sat up from his bed, which surprised his friends.

"I'm going to find Eevee." Gary proclaimed.

"Gary, you are in no position to go off on an adventure to find Eevee." Zoey reminded him. "Umbreon is hurt, you're injured and Ash doesn't have his strength to even get up from his bed. You're not going anywhere."

"I don't care if I'm injured, Zoey!" Gary shouted. He usually didn't yell at his friends, but he was too hurt to even care at this point. "Eevee needs me!"

"Gary, calm down." Professor Oak ordered. Gary turned to his grandfather in confusion. "Zoey's right. You are in no position to go traveling."

"But we have to get Eevee back." Gary laid back in his bed, crossing his arms in anger.

"And we _will_ get Eevee back, Gary. I promise." Professor Oak said. "But we can't make rash decisions. That could get you or someone else killed." No one expected what Gary was going to do next—he buried his head in his hands and started to cry. Professor Oak patted Gary's back, trying to comfort him about his missing Pokémon.

"I miss her so much." Gary said in between sobs. Professor Oak understood the pain Gary was going through. His best friend was missing and right now Gary felt like there was nothing he could do. Gary was stuck in a hospital bed not even able to get up.

"I know you do, Gary." Professor Oak spoke softly. "But we will find her. For now, you need your rest. If you do decide to go after the Pokémon magician to get Eevee back, then you need to speak to Ash. You're not going alone." Gary wiped his tears while giving his grandfather a determined look.

"Trust me. Ash and I have a score to settle with the Magic Man."

* * *

After visiting hours were over, Gary decided to go and pay Ash a visit across the hall. He wasn't expecting to find Dawn still sitting in one of the chairs, eyeing Ash while he slept. By Ash's feet was Pikachu who must have come back from the Pokémon Center. Dawn didn't notice that Gary was in the room so he decided to knock on the door to let her know Ash had some visitors.

"Dawn." Gary quietly said. Dawn quickly turned her head to find Gary standing right before her.

"Gary! I'm so glad you're okay!" Dawn smiled. Dawn got up from the chair to engulf Gary in a hug. However, Gary learned that he wasn't feeling all that better since he felt pain during the embrace.

"I guess I'm not feeling _that _okay yet." Gary winced in pain. Dawn quickly broke the hug, giving Gary an apologetic look. Gary turned to Ash, guilt filling up his heart. "How is he?"

"He'll be fine." Dawn assured him. Dawn led Gary over to Ash's bedside so that they could talk. "He was in pretty bad shape when he came in. As a matter of fact, so were you."

"I'm sorry if I worried you guys." Gary turned his attention to Ash, getting the feeling that he was going to cry again. "I'm sorry Ash. This is all my fault."

"This is not your fault, Gary." Dawn personally felt like she was both Ash and Gary's cheerleader today, trying to assure them that all that happened wasn't their fault. "It was that creep. It was his fault that both you and Ash ended up in the hospital."

"But none of this would have happened if it weren't for me." Gary convinced himself. "I'm the one that made myself look like a fool in front of Zoey. I was the one that had taken a while to get Ash back in the house. It's _my _fault."

"Well, there's no point in mulling in the past." Dawn placed her hands on her hips, tired of the pity party Gary and Ash were throwing. "Right now you need to get back into shape and go and find Eevee."

"Which is why I need Ash's help to complete this mission." Gary turned to Dawn, hoping that there was at least some news on the Pokémon that he still had. "How's Umbreon?" As if on cue, Dawn pulled a Pokéball from her pocket to throw to Gary.

"Brock went to pick up Umbreon before they headed back to my house." Dawn explained. Gary looked at the Pokéball, getting a sickening feeling in his stomach. His life right now felt extremely empty.

"Dawn, I don't know if I can do this without Eevee."

"Which is why we're going to go and get Eevee back." Dawn placed a hand on Gary's shoulder. Gary shook his head, believing that he must have been daydreaming. He heard Dawn say the word _we_.

"We?" Gary repeated. Dawn nodded her head, now feeling that she was obligated to get involved. "Dawn, you don't have to do this."

"Yes I do." Dawn stated firmly. "They hurt Ash and I'm going to go after that magician to make him sorry for ever placing my boyfriend in the hospital. There's nothing you can say or do to stop me Gary."

"You love Ash, don't you Dawn?" Gary asked with a smirk on his face. _Same old Gary, _Dawn thought to herself.

"I do." Dawn admitted. Gary's face turned serious hoping that Dawn was going to get ready to hear an earful from Ash about how dangerous this mission would be.

"This journey is going to be dangerous and I need to know that you are capable of handling yourself." Gary's eyes shifted from Dawn to Ash before continuing. "Ash would die inside if he knew something bad happened to you."

"Ash could say whatever he wants." Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Ash still can't change my mind." Gary let out a slight chuckle thinking how alike Dawn and Ash were. No wonder they were considered a perfect couple.

"That's what makes you two so perfect for each other." Gary admitted. "You can't change each other's minds."

"And that sometimes leads to arguing." Dawn finished Gary's sentence.

"So it's settled." Gary looked around at the scene, feeling anger rush through his bones. "We're going after the magic man and whoever else is putting Eevee through so much trouble. If they hurt her then they are going to pay dearly for their misfortunes. I guarantee it." Dawn had to admire how Gary was so focused on getting something that he loved so much—but she couldn't help but wonder if Gary was into getting Eevee back and just maybe…get revenge.


	7. The Mastermind Behind It All

**A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat! Here's a new chapter of the story. A new legendary Pokémon is revealed in this chapter. :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon-but again, I wish I did. **

* * *

When Eevee first woke up from her unexpected sleep, she realized she wasn't home—or with Gary. She found herself in a cage in a room that looked as if it was used for business meetings. Eevee heard the door open, her body trembling in fear. She didn't know who was going to come from the door or if they were planning on hurting her. All she wanted was to go home. Giovanni entered the room, his eyes glued to Eevee and a greedy smile plastered on his face. She was the key to him being the ultimate ruler of the Pokémon world—and she was going to help him whether she liked it or not. Giovanni walked to the cage while Eevee walked backwards in a scared and defensive state. She realized there was nowhere else to go when she hit the side of the cage, so she was forced to look at one of her captors.

"Hello there, Eevee." Giovanni's voice didn't sound friendly at all. "We're going to be such good _friends_, aren't we?" Eevee didn't want to be friends with this creep. She wanted to be home with Gary. Giovanni let out a small laugh before turning away and exiting the room. Eevee had to find a way to get out of here. She didn't know what she was going to be used for but she convinced herself it wasn't good. As Eevee tried to find some way out, she noticed a Pokémon sleeping in the next cage. She walked over and tried to smell it, hoping that maybe the Pokémon will wake up and tell her where she was. The pink Pokémon in the next cage felt Eevee's presence. Eevee was just a scared, sweet Pokémon that wanted nothing more than to go home to her best friend. The pink Pokémon opened her eyes, her long tail waving back and forth. If Eevee wasn't in such danger, she would have considered playing with the pink Pokémon's tail. It almost looked like it was kind of fun. The pink Pokémon motioned Eevee to look at her. Eevee obliged.

"Mew." The pink Pokémon looked as if she was saying, 'it's not safe here. You need to leave.'

"Eevee, Eevee?" Eevee looked as if she was saying, 'Do you know where I am? I'm looking for my owner.' The Mew turned her head, looked out from the bars of the cage with a somber expression on her face.

"Mew, Mew, Mew." Eevee's face completely understood every word Mew was telling her. Mew said, "That man is going to use us for evil. There's no way out and even if your owner came to look for you, there's no way that he would find you." Eevee began to feel hopeless. She might never see Gary again. She might never see her Pokémon friends again. Eevee walked back to the corner of her cage, curled up in a ball and cried herself back to sleep.

* * *

Dawn had explained to her mother that she was going with Ash and Gary on their journey to find Eevee and bring her home. Johanna listened to every word while Dawn explained why she _had_ to go and why she felt like it was her obligation to bring Eevee home and be a good friend to Gary. After Dawn finished her explanation, Johanna crossed her arms and expressed concern.

"Dawn, are you sure about this?" Johanna asked.

"Anyone can try to stop me from going." Dawn gave her mother the same look of concern. "But they hurt Ash. I'm not going to stand here and let that evil man hurt the person that means the world to me."

"Just be careful." Johanna reached into her pocket to take out a Pokéball. "Take this." Dawn became confused as to why her mother was giving her one of her Pokémon. Most importantly, which Pokémon was her mother giving her? "It's Umbreon. I figured you would need it to help Ash and Gary. Ash may mean the world to you, but you mean the world to me." Dawn took the Pokéball from her mother and placed it in her pocket. She never heard her mother sound so saddened and serious at the same time.

"I promise I'll be careful." Dawn told her mother. "I'll come home safe." With that, Dawn headed out the door to find Ash, Gary and Pikachu waiting for her. Brock and Zoey walked up to Dawn, hoping that they could have a word with her.

"Dawn, make sure that Ash and Gary don't do anything foolish." Brock said. "They're both hurt right now and if the Pokémon magician senses that, they'll snap and want revenge.

"I can handle Ash, don't worry." Dawn told Brock. She then turned to Gary who continued to look out into the horizon. "But I'm worried I won't be able to handle Gary."

"I thought of that." Brock pointed towards Zoey. "Which is why Zoey is going with you guys to keep an eye on Gary." Dawn and Zoey's main job was to make sure Ash and Gary didn't get too worked up when they found the Pokémon magician. It sounded easy enough.

"Let's get going then." Zoey nodded towards Dawn. Dawn and Zoey started walking towards Ash and Gary with Brock watching them. Gary and Ash turned around to find Dawn and Zoey standing before them. Gary knew that Dawn was coming, but Zoey?

"Zoey? What are you…?" Gary started to ask before Zoey put her hand up to stop him.

"I'm not letting you and Ash get into trouble." Zoey answered. "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Your grandfather made me promise that I wouldn't let anything happen to you." Gary couldn't help but stare at Zoey. She was ordering _him_ around. He knew he wasn't going to be able to fight her decision so he let out a long sigh.

"Fine, you can come." Gary turned back around, trying to ignore the fact that deep inside he was glad. "But don't come crying to me when you're in trouble and I need to save you."

"Oh, don't worry about that Gary." Zoey waved her hand as if what they were about to do were nothing. "Because _I'll_ be the one saving _you_." Gary turned back to Zoey about to say something else but Ash felt it was time for them to start looking for Eevee.

"Come on, let's go." Ash motioned to his friends. Gary and Zoey stopped their arguing and turned to Ash.

"How are we going to find the Pokémon magician?" Gary asked.

"It's simple." Dawn let out a small smile. "I did some research last night. After stealing Eevee, he went to Hearthome City to steal a legendary Pokémon that was hiding out. I think the Pokémon was called a Mew." Ash and Gary turned to one another and back at Dawn. Why would the Pokémon magician steal a Mew when he was so focused on stealing the evolutions of Eevee? It didn't make much sense.

"Well then, we better head to Hearthome City and find out where and why he took the Mew." Ash told his friends. They started walking to the terminal where they could catch a boat to get there. It would take a while to walk to Hearthome City and time wasn't on their side at this point. While walking to the terminal, Zoey noticed Gary looking a little concerned. _The poor guy just lost his Eevee, _Zoey thought to herself. _Maybe I should talk to him. _

"Gary? Are you okay?" Zoey asked.

"I'm just thinking about how I'm going to get that punk when I find him." Gary's concern quickly turned into anger. "I'm going to make him sorry for ever stealing Eevee." Zoey placed a hand on Gary's shoulder, which startled Gary a bit. _I wonder if Zoey feels the same way that I feel about her, _Gary thought to himself.

"We're going to find Eevee, I promise Gary." Zoey gave Gary a comforting smile. Gary's felt his heart pounding just by looking at Zoey. He actually forgot he was angry.

"I just hope they don't hurt her." Gary sounded vulnerable. Zoey realized that Gary may act tough but the tough act was just to prevent how Gary was really feeling inside. Both Gary and Zoey knew—Zoey could see right through Gary.

* * *

While Gary and Zoey were talking, Ash and Dawn ventured off ahead to the terminal in hopes that maybe they would meet Gary and Zoey there. Dawn knew that there was something bothering Ash just from him being more quiet than usual. He seemed a little _too_ focused.

"Ash?" Dawn softly said. Ash and Pikachu turned around, suddenly concerned.

"What?" Ash wondered.

"I know you want to get this magic man." Dawn started before taking Ash's hand in hers and staring in her eyes. "But please don't do anything that's reckless. I need you."

"I prom…" Ash started to say before Dawn cut him off.

"No, I need you to _really_ promise me this." Dawn turned away from Ash, not looking at him as she mumbled her words. "I can't picture a world without you."

"Dawn, have I ever broken a promise before?" Ash asked.

"No, but…" Dawn was about to speak but couldn't find herself to talk when Ash came closer to her.

"I would never hurt you. Do you know why?" Ash wondered.

"Why?" Dawn felt Ash placing his forehead to hers while their eyes locked. Before Ash could say anything, Gary ran over them.

"Ash, Dawn." Gary signaled over to his friends

"What's wrong?" Dawn wondered.

"Maybe those kids know what happened with the Pokémon magician." Gary pointed towards the kids that were currently sobbing while their mother consoled them. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder towards the children trying to figure out why the kids were in tears.

"Pika, Pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Have you seen a Pokémon magician that had been seen taking Pokémon?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, he took the family's Leafeon." The mother sadly answered. "We've had that Leafeon in our family for over 10 years. You could say he was the family pet."

"Isn't Leafeon a final evolution for Eevee?" Dawn turned to Ash and Gary.

"Yeah, it is." Ash quickly answered. Gary pulled out his Pokédex to research what was going on with all of the evolutions. Gary found an article about the Pokémon magician striking, which was quite helpful since it had a list of all of the Pokémon evolutions that were stolen.

"According to this article, Eevee, Vaporeon, Leafeon, Jolteon and Flareon were all stolen by the Pokémon magician, which means that the only ones that he's missing is Umbreon and Glaceon." Gary put the Pokédex back in his pocket while giving the kids a sad look. "My Eevee was taken by that Pokémon magician too. Don't worry. We're going to find him and bring your Leafeon home."

"Thank you." The mother gave Gary a small smile while she led her kids into the nearest town. They needed to find Eevee. This was getting serious.

"Something is bothering me though." Dawn scratched the back of her head. "If he's looking for all of Eevee's evolutions, then why didn't he take Gary's Umbreon when he was taking Eevee?"

"Because Gary's Umbreon isn't the strongest Umbreon." Ash answered. "It's almost like they're collecting the strongest of each Eevee evolution. Maybe, they're collecting it for some_one_…"

"But for who?" Gary asked.

"Think about it, which group is always trying to find the strongest Pokémon so that they could take over the world?" Ash asked. It didn't take long for Gary to figure it out.

"Team Rocket." Gary answered.

"But Ash, I doubt that Jessie, James and Meowth are smart enough that they would steal all those Pokémon." Dawn said.

"You're right, Dawn. Those three aren't smart enough to steal all those Pokémon, they could barely steal Pikachu." Ash pointed to his friend. "I'm thinking more of the head of Team Rocket."

"Giovanni." Gary silently whispered.

"Who's Giovanni?" Zoey sounded confused. Dawn shared Zoey's confusion.

"He's the head of Team Rocket. But just because some of Team Rocket are idiots, don't dismiss Giovanni just yet." Ash explained.

"He has powerful Pokémon that only he knows where to get." Gary furthered explained. "It might explain where he got Arceus and Mewtwo." Dawn and Zoey turned to Ash and Gary, shock plastered their faces.

"Did you just say Arceus and Mewtwo?!" the girls shouted in unison. Ash and Gary knew that it was time to tell the girls the truth about what really happened on the battlefield.

"Arceus and Mewtwo were the ones that attacked us and stole Eevee." Gary and Ash suddenly looked embarrassed. Dawn clutched onto Ash's arm while Zoey put a hand on Gary's shoulder.

"That just gave me a new reason to go and hunt down Giovanni." Zoey growled.

"Who does he think he is, hurting you guys with ancient Pokémon!" Dawn united Zoey's anger.

"That's not all Mewtwo is capable of." Gary and Ash decided to sit Dawn and Zoey down while they explained everything, just so they knew whom they were up against.

"Giovanni once cloned a Mew and Mewtwo was born. He also cloned our Pokémon and defeated Gary in a battle with him. He hasn't succeeded before, but he's smart. He'll see any loophole that we can't see and he'll use it against us." Dawn and Zoey stared at Ash while anger soon coursed through their body. Ash and Gary were in the hospital because of Giovanni and his legendary Pokémon. They were hurt because the Pokémon magician was stronger than what they believed. Eevee was taken out of greed and power. Dawn and Zoey knew that they were supposed to prevent Ash and Gary from seeking revenge but now the girls felt like they had to look for revenge. They needed to make the magician pay for almost killing Ash and Gary.

"So, where are we going to find him?" Dawn finally asked after a moment of silence.

"If the Pokémon magician is in Sinnoh, they might be here." Gary answered.

"Also, Team Rocket isn't known in Sinnoh which makes it the perfect opportunity for them to strike." Ash added.

"We should start heading out." Zoey got up from the ground, dusting off her pants.

"But we don't know which direction they went." Dawn tried to reason with Zoey.

"We don't know where they went now." Ash cunningly took out a Pokéball from his back pocket. "But, we will soon. Staraptor! I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball in the air and out popped Staraptor. "Try to find the Pokémon magician's location." Staraptor followed Ash's instructions and soon headed off to take an aerial view, leaving the others in the dust.

"So, where do we go now?" Zoey asked her friends.

"Let's just head in the direction of Staraptor. Once he's out of sight, we should camp for the night." Ash insisted. Gary could have searched all night for Eevee if he wanted to, but he knew Ash was right. They had to save their strength to find Eevee; Gary just hoped Giovanni didn't do anything to hurt her.


	8. Heart To Heart Talks

**A/N: Trick or treat, trick or treat, brand new chapter you can read. Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but-I do love Pikachu. :)  
**

* * *

Ash, Gary, Dawn and Zoey spend countless hours trying to find where Staraptor flew. Once Staraptor was out of sight, Ash looked into the sky and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. He knew that it was probably time to call it a night. Dawn and Zoey looked exhausted but Gary just looked determined to continue to look. Ash felt he needed to put sense into his friend that Gary would be no use if he were tired tomorrow.

"It's getting late." Ash spoke up, the rest of them turning to him. "We won't be useful if were tired in the morning. I think it's time we call it a night."

"Yeah, try telling that to Gary." Dawn tried to stifle a yawn.

"Call it a night?" Gary's tone was almost as if Ash was insane for thinking it.

"Gary, we do need to get some rest." Zoey tried to reason with him. "We'll just be exhausted in the morning and it will take longer to find Eevee." Gary didn't want to admit it, but he knew deep down inside that they were right.

"All right, I'll set up camp." Gary finally accepted defeat.

"I'll help you." Ash volunteered but Gary quickly shook his head.

"No, I'll do it myself." Gary felt like needed something to keep him busy in the meantime. "It will help me get my mind off Eevee." Gary turned around to head into the forest, hopefully so he could find some twigs to start a campfire. Zoey looked at Ash and Dawn who both looked completely exhausted and decided that she was better off helping Gary.

"I'm going to go and follow him." Zoey pointed towards the direction Gary took off.

"Good idea, Zoey." Ash agreed. Zoey turned around to see if she could find Gary. She was hoping that he wasn't too far away, just so that they could talk. Zoey knew how Gary felt, and he didn't want Gary to go through this pain alone. When Zoey found Gary, he was trying to find twigs but Zoey knew that he was just distracted and maybe furious that he had to get some rest. He wasn't going to be able to relax without Eevee by his side.

"Gary?" Zoey softly said. Gary turned around to find Zoey standing there looking concerned.

"I thought I told you guys I was going to set up camp myself." Gary was trying to hide the fact that he was in desperate need of a friend.

"Gary, you can't fool me." Zoey crossed her arms, giving him a serious look. "I know that you really are hurting." Gary turned back around to try to avoid Zoey's statement, but he was shocked when she turned him around and forced her to look at him.

"What was that for?!" Gary yelled.

"That's for not listening to me, Gary!" Zoey yelled back. Gary was taken aback by the fact that she was yelling at him. "I get it. You're frustrated, you're angry, you're hurt, you're feeling a lot of emotions. But don't just bury what you're really feeling to the side and pretend that you're a tough guy."

"Zoey, you don't know me! And you don't know what I'm going through!" Gary felt his fists clenching up in anger.

"Gary, I know you better than you know yourself right now." Zoey insisted. "So you need to think for a minute and ask yourself how you're really feeling." Zoey began to turn around and walk away but Gary made a slight whimper, which made her turn back. Gary looked at her with a frown on his face. _At least we know how he's feeling now_, Zoey thought.

"I…I…" Gary didn't know what to say next. He realized that he had so many emotions and he was unfairly letting them out on Zoey. All she was trying to do was help him, but he was pushing her away as he did with almost everyone else.

"You don't have to say anything, Gary." Zoey softly said, placing a soft hand on Gary's cheek. "You don't have to explain yourself." Gary would have turned her away if he was still trying to hide his feelings but instead he placed a hand on hers, their eyes still locked.

"I'm tired of everything." Gary finally said after a moment of silence. "I'm tired of hiding how I really feel from people. I'm tired of people messing with my emotions and taking what really means the most to me. I'm also tired of hiding behind my work all the time."

"I thought you liked being a Pokémon researcher." Zoey didn't understand where Gary was coming from.

"I do like being a Pokémon researcher, sometimes." Gary admitted. "I just feel like I bottle my emotions up a lot and bury myself in my work when all else fails to make me feel better. Eevee made me feel like I didn't have to hide my feelings anymore. She made my work worthwhile. She made everything worthwhile."

"Sounds like you love Eevee very much." Zoey smiled softly at Gary.

"I mean, I guess I do." Gary shrugged his shoulders.

"It's either you love her, or you don't." Zoey's smile vanished at Gary's words as she removed her hand from his cheek. "It's not that hard to think about."

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Gary sighed. "I never did something like this before. Why are you so annoyed with me all of a sudden?"

"Because Gary, you have commitment issues." Zoey stated in a 'matter-of-fact' voice.

"I do _not_ have commitment issues!" Gary became angry again. Zoey, with a disappointed look on her face turned around not sure if she could speak to Gary anymore at this point.

"And there you go." Zoey mumbled as she walked away. "You're hiding yourself again." Gary continued to watch Zoey walk away, and that was when he felt like he missed his chance. He missed his chance to tell Zoey how he really felt. _She's never going to go for me now. She probably thinks I'm stuck up, _Gary sadly told himself as he turned around to look for more twigs for the campfire.

* * *

That night after everyone had finished setting up camp and headed off to bed, Ash decided to stay outside and stare at the stars. Pikachu was already asleep, and Ash was sure that Dawn was asleep which gave him time to think about all that had happened in the last couple of hours or so. He couldn't believe that he let Gary down. He let everyone down. Most of all, Ash was frightened of facing Mewtwo again. He didn't want to admit it, but Mewtwo scared him.

"Ash?" Ash became surprised by the voice behind him, nevertheless he turned around.

'Dawn?" Ash's eyes widened. Dawn gave Ash a look of worry before heading over to sit next to him.

"You're supposed to be asleep." Dawn gave Ash a small smile, trying to cheer him up. Ash unfortunately turned away not wanting to speak.

"I wasn't exactly tired yet." Ash spoke quietly. Dawn figured the best way to get Ash to talk was to say what concerned her the most. She knew him well.

"Do you think we'll find Eevee?" Ash turned back to Dawn after she voiced her distress.

"We will find Eevee." Ash guaranteed her. Dawn felt that if there were any a good time to talk, this would be it.

"Ash, I know you're upset about what happened to Gary." Dawn started. "And I know that you feel like what happened was your fault." Ash knew that Dawn knew how he felt about everything—and he wasn't going to deny it.

"Yeah, it is my fault." Ash then thought about Dawn's words at the hospital before showing her a fake smile. "I can't beat myself up over it. What happened in Twinleaf town, it happened. All I can do now is help Gary get Eevee back. It's the least I could do." Dawn put her head on Ash's shoulder in which Ash responded by putting his arm around her.

"Do you think we'll get out of this okay?" Dawn wondered. "I never faced a Mewtwo before. And to be honest, I'm pretty nervous."

"To be honest, I'm scared to face Mewtwo." Ash admitted. Dawn's eyes went wide at her boyfriend. She had known him for a while and he had _never_ said that he was afraid. Never. Not even once since they met.

"You?" Dawn sounded astonished. "You're never afraid of _anything_."

"Well, I am now." Ash said. "I'm terrified by what's going to happen. That Mewtwo was powerful, and I don't think that I can do it." Dawn grabbed Ash's hand, interlocking her fingers with his while staring in his brown eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm going to be there right next to you." Dawn promised. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Really?" Ash raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend.

"Really." Dawn nodded her head, sounding confident. "I would never let anything happen to you." Dawn leaned closer and pressed her lips to Ash's, engulfing him in a kiss that was full of comfort, full of support and most of all full of love.

* * *

At Team Rocket's headquarters, the feeling was the complete opposite. Giovanni was thinking of nothing more than to take over Eevee's DNA and become the most powerful being on the earth. There was just one problem with his plan—Ash, Dawn, Gary and Zoey were on their way to foil it. Giovanni tapped on the table watching the cameras that were pointed at the group sleeping on the ground in the middle of the night. Those twerps were going to ruin his plan? Again? Giovanni couldn't have that. He needed to find a way to stop them.

"We need to find a way to distract them." Giovanni went into a vault that was on the other side of the room to a vault-like room. Giovanni entered and took a Pokéball that he looked like he was saving for this occasion. "I think it's time we entertain our _friends_." Giovanni didn't notice in the corner of the room where Eevee and Mew were watching from a distance. Eevee was frightened at the thought that Gary was going to get hurt by who knows what Pokémon was in there. She had to find a way out of here, before Gary hurt himself for her sake. She just had to protect her friend. She loved him very much.

* * *

Morning came more quickly than the teenagers expected. While Gary stood by the nearby creek to fill his water canteen, he was able to listen to the sounds of nature. For the first couple of moments, he was actually able to see the Goldeen and Starmie swim under water playfully. If Eevee were there, she would have been trying to catch them only so she could play with them. Gary couldn't help but wonder if maybe Zoey was right. Maybe Gary _did_ have a commitment problem.

"Good morning, Gary." Gary heard a voice come from behind him. He knew that voice anywhere. It was Zoey. Zoey walked up next to Gary to fill up her canteen to prepare for the long day ahead. Gary turned to her to give her a quick smile but when she had a guilty expression on her face, Gary became alarmed.

"Are you okay?" Gary asked.

"I'm sorry about the argument last night." Zoey said. Gary chuckled while shaking his head. After the argument from last night, _Zoey_ was the one that was sorry?

"You don't have to apologize, Zoey." Gary assured her. "After all, I was the one that was acting like a jerk last night. I'm sorry." Zoey looked at Gary, trying to figure out what happened to the Gary that was acting tough last night.

"Um, it's okay." Zoey shrugged her shoulders and went back to putting water in the canteen. Gary figured this would have been a better than time than any to make conversation.

"I was thinking about this one time where we were by the river and Eevee was trying to catch a Shellos. She didn't succeed but when I asked her what she was doing, she said she wanted to play with him." Gary smiled, thinking of his friend.

"She sounds very special Gary." Zoey said.

"I wished she was here with me right now. She would have liked to play with the Goldeen and Starmie in the river." Gary continued to look at his reflection in the water.

"Well, we wouldn't be on this mission if Eevee was home safe and sound." Zoey pointed out before continuing. "But I see your point."

"We better go and wake up Ash and Dawn so we can continue our journey—and hope for Staraptor to get back." Gary got up from his position, offering his hand to Zoey. Zoey looked at Gary's outstretched hand, wondering what she should do. Should she take it? Should she say that she didn't want to hold his hand so that Ash and Dawn didn't get the wrong idea? She finally decided that he was only helping her up and accepted his offer. Gary pulled Zoey up from her crouched position and the two friends headed back to the camp. Gary was completely oblivious to this, but Zoey was blushing while looking over at the 16-year old researcher. Zoey had to admit, she had a crush on Gary Oak.

* * *

When Gary and Zoey got back to the campsite, Gary wasn't surprised to find Dawn and Ash still sleeping on the floor, cuddled up with one another. Gary hated to interrupt their dreams since they looked adorable in their sleep, but there was a mission to continue. Gary softly nudged Dawn, in which he quickly saw her turn to him, squinting her eyes.

"Gary?" Dawn said groggily.

"Come on Dawn. We have to get going. Zoey and I are already up." Gary turned back around to head back to the creek. He didn't want to see how Dawn was going to wake Ash up. Dawn turned to see her boyfriend sleeping with Pikachu on his other side, not having the heart to wake them up. She eventually knew that if she didn't, Gary would come back—and he wouldn't be happy. Dawn leaned over and kissed Ash softly on his nose. His eyes fluttered, and the first thing he saw was Dawn.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Dawn cooed. "Gary says it's time to get up."

"Five more minutes." Ash sounded a bit irritated and shut his eyes again. Dawn didn't take it personal. She knew Ash wasn't a morning person. Dawn tried to wake Ash up once again, and this time she looked a bit serious.

"We don't have five minutes. As much as I would like to lay with you here possibly forever, we have a mission to take care of." Dawn looked up ahead to find Ash's Staraptor circling over them. "By the way, I think I see Staraptor." Ash's eyes opened to look at the sky, and Pikachu's eyes followed. Staraptor flew down and landed before Ash and Dawn with information. If Ash wasn't awake before, he was awake now.

"Staraptor, what's wrong?" Ash wondered.

"Staraptor, Star!" Staraptor pointed to the sky, telling Ash what it saw.

"You saw the Pokémon magician with a train?" Ash scratched his head. Staraptor quickly nodded its head with Dawn petting Staraptor on the head as a reward.

"Gary! Zoey! Staraptor said that it found a train with the Pokémon magician in it." Dawn yelled. Gary and Zoey quickly rushed over to hear more details.

"Really?" Gary continued to look at Staraptor who continued to nod its head.

"Let's go and find that train!" Ash got up from the ground with Pikachu following.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu sounded just as confident as his trainer did.

"What happened to five minutes more?" Dawn teased.

"We don't have five minutes." Ash explained to Dawn as if staying at the camp was her idea. "We have to go and find that train, before it leaves!"

"Wait a minute." Dawn paused for a moment, looking from Ash to Zoey to Gary. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered.

"It's quiet." Dawn finally answered looking around. "A little _too_ quiet." Ash, Gary and Zoey had a feeling that Dawn was right. As they looked around all the Pokémon that were around them were leaving. Even Pikachu was feeling uneasy. Something was coming. What it was, they weren't so sure. The bushes began to move. What the group of teenagers saw next terrified them. A figure that looked like a legendary Pokémon stood before them. Gary and Zoey didn't know what the Pokémon was, but Ash and Dawn knew all too well of its familiar name.

_Darkrai._


	9. These Are My Confessions

**A/N: Here's a brand new chapter of the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon-but I do have a collection of _plush_ Pokémon :)**

* * *

The groups of teenagers were paralyzed in shock and fear at the thought that Darkrai the legendary Pokémon was standing before them, about to strike. Ash and Dawn remembered Darkrai, but Gary (who had never even seen Darkrai) and Zoey (who had never even heard of Darkrai) were unsure how to approach the situation—or what to expect. Gary turned to Ash and Dawn, hoping that they would have more experience on how to handle Darkrai, but in reality, they were just as clueless as Gary was.

"So what's the plan?" Gary hoped that someone had thought of something. Instead, Darkrai released a Shadow ball and aimed it for Ash and Pikachu. Dawn grabbed both Ash and Pikachu away from Darkrai, both of them thankful for Dawn's quick rescue.

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu shrugged his shoulders towards Gary.

"There's nowhere to go." Ash observed while monitoring Darkrai. "We're stuck here."

"What are we going to do?" Dawn sounded a bit worried. They noticed Pikachu's cheeks giving way to a yellow glow.

"We're going to have to stop Darkrai." Ash stated matter-of-factly.

"But Ash, you do know that it's a legendary Pokémon, right?" Zoey sounded a bit afraid but Ash remained calm. That was one of the high points of having Ash on your side—he was always calm and collected, even when he was frightened.

"It's the only way we can get past Darkrai." Ash explained. Darkrai aimed another shadow ball towards Ash in which Dawn pulled her boyfriend away from the trouble. Darkrai kept his focus towards Ash—and now Dawn who kept trying to save him. Darkrai's shadow ball got more intense with every throw, making Gary worried that he could lose his friends to a legendary Pokémon.

"Darkrai is aiming _at_ Ash and Dawn." Gary turned to Zoey. "We need to help them."

"But how are we supposed to help them?" Zoey asked. Gary went into his back pocket to pull out a Pokéball. He was hoping that at this point, he was right. He was tired of messing up, maybe this was the one chance he had to make things right.

"Umbreon, let's go!" Gary threw the Pokéball, hoping that this would work out. Umbreon popped out of his Pokéball, turning to see Darkrai. Gary knew that Umbreon was Ash and Dawn's last hope to save them from Darkrai. "Umbreon, use shadow ball!" Zoey watched in awe but she was also concerned. Was Gary sure to bring Umbreon in something as serious as trying to fight Darkrai with a shadow ball that probably wasn't good enough? Umbreon let out a shadow ball and aimed it towards Darkrai. Darkrai turned its head towards Umbreon in anger. _No one_ fired at Darkrai and got away with it. Darkrai looked a little fazed at Umbreon, which gave Gary a great idea. With Darkrai focused on _Umbreon_, he was no longer focused on Ash and Dawn. "Umbreon, keep firing! I have an idea." Umbreon focused on what Gary was telling him and continued to throw the shadow ball towards Darkrai. Ash and Pikachu noticed Gary signaling towards them, which Ash used to his advantage.

"Pikachu! Use Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded his friend. Pikachu ran towards Darkrai, with every step engulfing him in electricity. As he reached Darkrai, the hit of the Volt Tackle was too much—so Darkrai hit into a tree. Dawn found this to be the perfect time to end Darkrai's reign. She took out a Pokéball from her back pocket to join in on the party.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Dawn threw the Pokéball and commanded at the same time. Buneary popped out of the Pokéball using a powerful ice beam that incased Darkrai in an almost beautiful ice Pokéball. Ash, Gary and Dawn couldn't believe it. They had actually taken down a legendary Pokémon by not using that many moves. Ash, Dawn, Gary and Zoey had to admit that they were surprised—but they still had a mission to continue. They still had to save Eevee.

* * *

Ash, Dawn, Gary and Zoey continued trying to find the train Staraptor had spotted earlier in the day but they were having no luck. They were cold, they were hungry and they were tired. Ash looked to the sky to see that they didn't have a lot of daylight left and that maybe it was time to give it a rest. Ash sat down on a nearby log, hoping that maybe the others would want to join in. Dawn soon joined Ash followed along with Zoey. Gary however wasn't feeling the same way as his traveling companions.

"Why are we stopping here?" Gary huffed.

"Because we're tired." Zoey raised her eyebrow towards Gary. Gary looked over to Ash and Dawn who continued to sit on the log.

"But we need to go and find Eevee!" Gary proclaimed. Zoey and Dawn gave Gary a stern look as they heard growling from Pikachu's stomach.

"Enough!" Dawn stood up from the log, clenching her fists. "We need to take a break now."

"I think that's a good idea." Ash nodded his head. Dawn and Zoey turned their heads to her a faint weakness in Ash's voice. Dawn felt something must have been wrong.

"Ash, are you okay?" Dawn sounded a bit worried. Ash gave Dawn a tired look while trying to smile.

"I'm fine." Ash tried to hide how he really felt.

"Are you sure, Ash?" Zoey asked. Gary tapped his foot with impatience while Ash let out a slight groan. Dawn quickly walked over to Ash and placed her hands on his cheeks.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Dawn sounded a bit edgy, wondering what was wrong with Ash.

"I'm not feeling all that great." Ash finally admitted. Dawn and Zoey turned their heads to Gary who continued to show impatience.

"Oh brother, what else can go wrong?" Dawn was getting tired of Gary's attitude. Apparently, so was Zoey.

"That's enough, Gary." Dawn snapped. "We have been working long and hard to make sure that Eevee stays safe, but you have to think about everyone else who is willing to help you."

"We need to take a break." Zoey agreed with Dawn. "Ash isn't feeling well, Pikachu's hungry and we're tired. Do you think Eevee would appreciate you treating your friends that way?" Gary turned to Ash and Pikachu before letting out a sigh.

"We can take a break and figure out our next step." Gary reluctantly said. Dawn walked over to tend to Ash while Zoey went into her backpack to get some Pokémon food for Pikachu. Gary stared at his friends realizing that they had come all this way, just for him. The least he could do was listening to their needs. Gary walked over to Ash, crouched down to look at him while Dawn kept her hand on his shoulder. "Did we find out what's bothering him yet?"

"He has a stomach ache. He's probably just hungry." Dawn looked to Gary. "He hasn't eaten since yesterday morning." Gary heard rumbling from his stomach while blushing.

"Sounds like you're hungry too." Zoey joked. Gary turned his head, his face still red. Maybe the least they could do was have lunch. It wouldn't have killed them. They brought out some food that Brock had made for them before they left on their journey and ate that for lunch. Gary couldn't help but turn his head to Ash and Dawn who were preoccupied with one another. _Ashy Boy seems to be feeling better; _Gary smiled at his friend while thinking. He turned to Zoey who crouched next to him with a smile on her face. Gary couldn't help but return the smile.

"I think Ash is feeling better." Gary pointed towards the couple.

"So is Pikachu." Zoey smiled. "He ate the whole bowl of Pokémon food in one sitting. Poor guy must have really been hungry." Gary turned away, once again feeling guilty.

"Every time I think I'm doing something right, I end up doing something wrong." Gary silently said. Zoey didn't understand what Gary meant by that.

"What do you mean Gary? You don't do everything wrong." Zoey sighed.

"I was trying to bring Ash back inside and the Pokémon magician came and stole Eevee." Gary started to count off. "I was trying to find Eevee and I ignored the fact that Ash and Pikachu were probably starving. They've been doing so much to help me and I practically ignored them like trash." Zoey placed a hand on Gary's shoulder in comfort.

"Gary, you're just worried about Eevee." Zoey gave Gary a small smile. "You didn't mean to ignore them. They want to help you just as much as you want to find Eevee. They've known you since forever. They'd do anything for you." Gary thought about Zoey's words for a moment. Once again, she was right. Ash and Pikachu practically would do anything to help Gary again, but why would Ash help after all the times Gary treated him like a loser? Gary shrugged off his thoughts to see Ash and Pikachu smiling—the first time either of them had done so since the day before.

"That feels better." Ash proclaimed.

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu agreed with his friend.

"And now that Ash and Pikachu are feeling better, why don't we go look for the train?" Dawn suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Ash agreed. The four friends continued their journey to find the mysterious circus train that the Pokémon magician used to travel back to Team Rocket's headquarters. Deep inside, Gary was relieved that they were continuing their journey, but he had to make a note to make sure that everyone was just as energized as he was. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

* * *

It took them another two hours but the group finally found a train that looked as if it had been used in the Pokémon heists. The group of teenagers looked around, trying to keep an eye out for the Pokémon magician, should he return.

"This must be the train that the Pokémon magician was using." Dawn pointed out.

"So what's the plan now?" Gary wondered. Zoey looked in one of the train cars to find it open. The Pokémon magician was out stealing another Pokémon. That was when a plan flashed into Zoey's mind. She had an idea.

"The train is bound to take us to Team Rocket's headquarters." Zoey spoke thoughtfully while turning to her friends. "If we can hide out in the train while it goes back, we'll find the building. Plus we'll be able to plan our strategy."

"That sounds like a good idea." Gary smiled. Ash, Dawn, Zoey and Gary entered one of the train cars, and what they saw absolutely shocked them.

"It looks like this train was used for Pokémon heists." Dawn worried. The car had a million cages, which was probably the way the stolen Pokémon were transported back to Team Rocket's headquarters. Gary clenched his fists in anger, thinking that this was how they probably treated poor Eevee. _Those guys are going to pay now, _Gary declared.

"I hear someone!" Zoey turned towards the door, the footsteps getting louder and louder. "Hide!" Zoey, Ash, Dawn and Gary hid behind some boxes, hoping that they would stay out of sight. The Pokémon magician entered holding a sleeping Glaceon. That was one of the Pokémon that he needed, which meant the only one he was missing was an Umbreon. Those Pokémon were strong, but they weren't strong enough to avoid the Pokémon magician. The evil magician placed the Glaceon in a cage and locked it before turning to one of the Team Rocket grunts.

"All right, let's head back to headquarters." The magician demanded. The Team Rocket grunts went into to the next car of the train while the Pokémon magician turned towards the sleeping Glaceon. "By controlling Eevee and its evolutions, Giovanni will be the most powerful Pokémon boss in the entire world. And there's nothing anyone can say or do to stop him." The Pokémon magician headed to the doors that led to the other car, oblivious that Gary and Ash were listening to his conversation. The magician slammed the door, leaving the four teenagers to try to save the captured Glaceon.

"Try to get the cage door open." Gary said in a hushed whisper. "We have to get Glaceon out of here before the magician comes back." Zoey tried to pull on the lock to make it open, but it was no use. The poor lock wasn't budging.

"It's not moving." Zoey sighed.

"Then try to move the cage so we can get it off the train." Gary instructed. Ash, Dawn and Pikachu tried to push the cage—but it was too heavy for the three of them.

"There's no use." Dawn sighed, sitting down against the cage. "It won't move."

"Do you have any other ideas?" Ash turned to Gary. Gary was running out of them, and his face showed it. Zoey placed a hand on Gary's shoulder before turning back to Ash and Dawn.

"I think we're stuck here for the night." Zoey pointed out to the young couple. "We might as well think of a plan before we go on and do something that will get us caught." Ash and Dawn had to admit that Zoey had a point. They were stuck on the train and any sudden movement could get them caught and thrown off before Gary would have a chance to save poor Eevee.

"You're right." Ash nodded his head.

"We might want to get some rest then." Dawn finally proclaimed. "We might be able to think of a plan in our sleep. It's the only way we'd be able to save Eevee and the other Pokémon."

"Yeah, you might be right." Gary let out a sigh. Gary looked from his friends to the Glaceon that was inside the cage. Gary knew something wasn't right. He had a gut feeling that Team Rocket didn't actually think of this plan by themselves. They had to have had some help—and that was when Gary realized it. The one that helped Team Rocket in their plans to take over the world—was _him_. Gary and his research might have just doomed the Pokémon world. The question was how did Giovanni get the information in the first place?

* * *

The train continued to move towards Team Rocket's headquarters. Gary looked out the small window to see that it was still dark outside. He continued to think about Eevee and all Eevee had done for him, ever since he adopted her. He couldn't help but think that he had somehow betrayed his friend by doing research and letting it fall into the wrong hands. _I should have listened when Dawn said it was dangerous,_ Gary mulled over it. _It's because of me that Eevee is going to be in trouble._ Gary didn't notice Zoey was watching him stare out the small window in defeat. He also wasn't' expecting to shed a couple of tears, thinking of all the trouble he caused for the sake of science. Zoey knew that Gary needed a friend at that point. Gary needed _her_.

"Gary?" Zoey softly said while crawling over next to Gary. "Are you okay?" Gary turned his head to Zoey before looking down at the ground.

"Do you know what it's like to have your pride and joy taken away from you for the sake of science?" Gary asked silently, his voice breaking.

"You think that it's your fault Eevee was taken?" Zoey understood where Gary was going with this.

"If it wasn't for me being so curious about where Eevee came from, looking at Eevee's DNA, me trying to piece everything together—"Gary let out a sigh before continuing. "Eevee would probably still be here right now."

"Gary, you can't possibly think that it's your fault that Eevee's missing." Zoey spoke in a calming tone. "Science is in your blood. Your grandfather is a great professor and you're going to be one of the greats one day. I promise you that."

"Maybe I should have stuck to being a Pokémon trainer." Gary turned the other way.

"Why would you want to be a Pokémon trainer?" Zoey shrugged her shoulders. "That job is so completely overrated."

"Oh yeah? Well Ash is doing a good job at it." Gary pointed to Ash who cuddled up with Dawn and Pikachu in a blissful sleep.

"And Dawn thinks that Ash being a Pokémon trainer is good enough for her." Zoey shrugged her shoulders. "Being a Pokémon trainer isn't good enough for me." Gary turned his head to Zoey, seeing that she was now staring right at him.

"What are you trying to say?" Gary wondered. His heart began to pound furiously.

"I'm trying to say that being a Pokémon researcher is a special job, because not everyone can do it." Zoey smiled. "I think being a Pokémon researcher is a better job than being a trainer any day. Anyone can catch Pokémon and train them for leagues. You need brains to be a researcher, something you have." Gary felt calmed by Zoey's words. She didn't have to say that he was smart, he had a feeling he was. Being smart was what got him in trouble in the first place. Gary soon had a guilty expression on his face as he turned away.

"Zoey, when you showed up at the house, I didn't mean to run away from you." Gary slightly blushed. "I was nervous about seeing you."

"Why were you nervous about seeing me?" Zoey wondered. Gary turned back to Zoey, not sure how to continue.

"Because…well...I…" Gary stammered, trying to find the words. "I…I like you…I like you, like you." For a minute by looking at Zoey's face expression, he was sure that Zoey was going to either laugh at him or completely turn him down. Instead, she placed a hand on his while staring into his eyes.

"You like me, like me?" Zoey repeated Gary. "Well, there's no surprise. I had a feeling you did." Gary realized that he hadn't been as subtle as he thought he had been.

"Wait, so you knew?" Gary sounded dumbfounded.

"I obviously figured it out when you kept blushing back at the house and asked if anyone needed more soda." Zoey let out a slight laugh. "I also figured it out when we were talking back at camp the other day and you looked so defenseless when I started to walk away."

"So, you knew the whole time, and you were just going to let me go crazy?" Gary wondered.

"I wanted to see how long it would take before you told me you liked me." Zoey let out a sly smile.

"You are bad." Gary half joked as he playfully shoved her. Zoey giggled before playfully punching Gary in his shoulder. After a minute or so, Gary had to ask—did Zoey like him back? "So, how about you? Do you like me, like me?" Zoey looked as if she was thinking for a moment before she nodded her head.

"Yes, I like you, like you." Zoey answered. Gary let out a sigh of relief. Now that it was out there, he didn't have to hide his feelings from anyone anymore.

"You know, I was talking about this with Eevee the day she was captured." Gary admitted. "She's actually a very good listener."

"I'm not surprised." Zoey smiled at Gary. "She seems to care about your problems, even when they aren't really problems."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gary thought for a moment. Gary looked down to see Zoey squeezing his hand tightly.

"We're going to bring Eevee back." Zoey guaranteed him. "I promise."

"I know." Gary looked back at her. "I believe you." Gary wasn't sure about what was going to happen next. In fact, neither of them knew what was going to happen next.

"You know Gary, you're very brave." Zoey told him. "You're also very special. Not a lot of people would have come all this way to rescue a Pokémon that they loved very much." Gary continued to stare at Zoey while she leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. Gary began to feel his cheeks turn red, but at that point, it didn't matter. With Zoey there to support him every step of the way, he didn't have to worry about what everyone else thought. Gary soon felt sleepiness drift onto him as he leaned back onto the wall of the train. Zoey placed her head on his shoulder, which made Gary feel a lot more secure. In the darkest of times, Gary was able to find that little light of hope—that light ended up being Zoey.


	10. Showdown With Mewtwo

**A/N: Brand new chapter is up and ready to read! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon...but I do love the show. :)**

* * *

Back at Twinleaf Town, Johanna began to worry about Dawn. She was still trying to contemplate whether it was a good idea to let Dawn go with Ash and Gary to prevent the Pokémon magician from taking over the world. She knew that Dawn was safe with Ash and Gary, but she still couldn't help but feel something was bothering her. She should have heard something from Dawn by now. At least, she thought so.

"I think we should have heard something from the kids by now." Johanna turned to Brock and Professor Oak who were on the other side of Johanna's living room. "I'm beginning to worry. They've never done something like this before."

"Don't worry, Johanna." Professor Oak spoke in a calming tone. "Everything is going to be fine with the kids. I'm sure Dawn is safe and sound."

"Professor Oak is right." Delia spoke up while looking at Johanna. "If I know Ash, he would never let anyone hurt Dawn. He cares about her so much." Brock looked through a tablet that Professor Oak had lent him, scanning through news articles before he found something that was extremely interesting.

"I was just researching about what the Pokémon magician is doing with the other Pokémon." Brock announced, the others turning towards him. "The reports say that he's captured Eevee and the evolutions."

"It sort of makes sense why they would want Eevee." Professor Oak scratched the back of his head. "Eevee is the key to the other evolutions."

"But why would someone want to hurt Eevee?' Johanna piped up. "What has that poor sweetie ever done to deserve this?"

"Gary has been taking a little too good care of Eevee." Brock mentioned. "With the care that Gary had given, Eevee is probably one of the strongest Pokémon of its kind."

"Whatever the Pokémon magician wants, it has to do with the Eevee evolutions." Professor Oak then remembered something, turning his head towards Brock. "Brock, can I see the tablet for one moment?" Brock obliged and handed Professor Oak the tablet, to see what information was in it. Professor Oak continued to scan it until he realized why the case with the missing Eevee's and its evolutions were so familiar—it was a part of Gary's research!

"Gary's research is being used in order to take over the Pokémon world." Brock read behind Professor Oak's shoulder at the countless research Gary had put together.

"All right, so which Pokémon hasn't he captured yet from the Eeveelutions?" Johanna asked. Professor Oak went back to another article, his face expression turning somber.

"According to this, it says that the only Pokémon the magician hasn't stolen yet was an Umbreon." Professor Oak turned to his companions. Johanna for a moment almost looked as if she was going to be sick to her stomach.

"Oh no." Johanna muttered.

"Is something wrong Johanna?" Professor Oak wondered. Johanna sat down on the couch, rubbing her temples.

"I gave Dawn my Umbreon." Johanna admitted. The others weren't sure what Johanna was so worried about. "It was to keep Dawn safe from any danger from the road ahead."

"Is that the Umbreon that we saw in the contest circuit years ago?" Brock asked. Johanna quickly nodded her head and Brock suddenly knew what was bothering her. "Since you've had Umbreon for years, it might be one of the strongest of its kind."

"Oh my goodness." Johanna buried her head in her hands in despair. "Dawn doesn't know about that."

"Which means, Dawn could be in danger." Professor Oak ended their thoughts. Johanna began to feel a pang of guilt in her stomach, upset that she would let Dawn go on such a dangerous journey.

"I knew I shouldn't have let Dawn go on this journey." Johanna turned to the others. "It's too dangerous for her."

"You have to understand though," Brock tried to reason with Johanna. "There was no way that we were going to be able to stop her from going."

"And why weren't we going to be able to stop her?" Johanna almost sounded surprised by Brock's words.

"Because Ash was almost killed by the Pokémon magician." Brock explained. "Ash is always there for her. I'm sure that right now she just wants to be there for him."

"I know, but I just don't want her to get hurt." Johanna wasn't sure what to say. She needed her daughter, but her daughter obviously had other commitments.

"She's not willing to think about just herself right now." Brock said. "She's thinking about how important Ash is to her. She's willing to put her fears aside in order to help him with whatever he needs. He means that much to her." Johanna processed Brock's words for a moment, not sure what she should say next, but there was nothing left _to_ say. Dawn was growing up, and maybe it was time for Johanna to live with it as well.

* * *

On the Pokémon magician's train, Gary and Zoey cuddled up against each other while they continued to dream. Gary felt a sense of security with Zoey in his arms, and she could feel the same way with Gary. As they continued to sleep next to one another, Gary couldn't help but hear something coming from the other train car. His eyes fluttered open as he became more alert. He turned his head to hear the Pokémon magician talking which meant it was time for him and Zoey to hide.

"Zoey." Gary shook Zoey softly. Zoey's eyes opened and looked into Gary's brown eyes. "We have to go and hide now." Zoey and Gary hid behind one of the boxes as they heard the car door open. It was the magician, and he looked as if he was very proud of what he had done. "We're here." Zoey and Gary quickly nudged Ash and Dawn to wake up, but as they did Gary put a finger to his lips to motion them to stay quiet. The others stared intently at the Pokémon magician who was getting off the train with an evil grin on his face. The door slammed shut, and the Glaceon that he captured the night before was gone.

"We have to get out of here." Gary instructed.

"We also have to find a way to get rid of those guards." Dawn motioned towards the door. Ash and Dawn walked towards the door of the train cars, and Ash found one that was unlocked.

"Let's get out of here." Ash nodded to the others.

"I still don't get why the Pokémon magician wanted all those Eevee evolutions. What could Eevee do that plays a part in all of this?" Dawn scratched her head. Gary knew that he had to tell them what he found out in his research to give them the advantage.

"Gary?" Ash turned back around to face Gary. "What did you find out at the Pokémon lab about Eevee?"

"It showed the instability of Eevee's DNA." Gary said. "I was trying to compare Eevee's DNA to other Pokémon's DNA."

"And what did you find?" Dawn wondered.

"I found the reason that Eevee can evolve into seven different types of Pokémon is because of its ability to adapt. Any climate or situation, Eevee's DNA is able to adjust to its surroundings, which makes it evolve. Also the radiation of the thunder stone, fire stone and water stone plays a role in it as well." Gary answered. Dawn and Ash were impressed with Gary's research, which would give them the upper hand but as they were about to think of a plan, Gary felt guilty.

"It sounds like they're using the research for evil." Dawn softly said.

"Curiosity harmed the Pokémon." Ash shrugged his shoulders. His mother used to tell him that every time Ash was curious about something as a young child.

"Well, I'm the one that figured all that, so I have to be the one that has to find Eevee. She means that much to me." Gary said. They turned to their friend who looked at Zoey. All she did was give him a reassuring smile. "So how are we going to get into the building?" Ash looked out the small window that was in the train car and noticed nothing but Team Rocket grunts.

"I have an idea, but it might be a long shot." Ash turned back to his friends.

"And what's your idea?" Zoey asked. Ash looked back towards the grunts, an idea forming in his mind.

"What if we dressed up as the grunts of Team Rocket to get in the building?" Ash suggested. Dawn, Gary and Zoey looked to one another before staring back at Ash with looks as if he had went crazy.

"Are you serious?" Gary didn't sound convinced.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Ash asked.

"But as Team Rocket?" Dawn raised her eyebrow at Ash.

"Do you want to get into the building or not?" Ash was beginning to sound annoyed. Dawn, Gary and Zoey honestly couldn't think of a better idea at this point and decided to go with Ash's.

"All right, all right. You win." Dawn put her hand up to signal defeat.

"All right, if that's the plan were going to need some Team Rocket grunts to steal from." Gary turned to see two inexperienced Level 1 Team Rocket members. "And I think I found what we were looking for." Gary jumped out of the train, trying not to be seen by the other Team Rocket members. Gary walked up to the two members who automatically recognized Gary as the grandson of Professor Oak.

"It's that Oak kid." The first one began to draw his weapon. However, Gary was much too fast for them._ This is going to be easy_, Gary thought.

Five minutes later, Gary returned with four uniforms: two girl uniforms for Dawn and Zoey and two regular uniforms for him and Ash. The girls didn't look convinced and didn't like the idea of having to wear the uniforms, but they didn't have much of a choice to get into the building. After changing out of their normal clothes and into the Team Rocket uniforms, Dawn and Zoey wished that they didn't have to wear them.

"These are completely hideous." Dawn huffed.

"I have to agree with Dawn." Zoey sighed.

"Calm down guys, you only have to wear them until we get into the building." Gary sighed. "By the way Ash, Pikachu has to stay hidden."

"Pika!" Pika exclaimed as it hid inside Ash's Team Rocket uniform.

"This better work." Dawn mumbled to Ash.

"It will work." Ash rolled his eyes, a little annoyed that not everyone thought it was a good idea. "By the way Gary, what did you do with the other members of Team Rocket?"

"Oh, Blastoise took care of them." Gary gave Ash a devilish grin.

* * *

By the woods where Gary had taken the Team Rocket's members uniforms, the Team Rocket members were hanging from the tree, drenched in water—from a Blastoise. The members turned to one another while trying to break free.

"Get us down from here!" One member of Team Rocket yelled.

"That darn kid and his Blastoise!" The second member yelled.

* * *

Ash, Dawn, Zoey and Gary walked towards the front of Team Rocket's headquarters in disguise; Ash began to wonder if it was a good idea after all. It sounded good at first, but now that he thought about it, maybe Dawn and Zoey had a right to be conflicted with the whole plan. Ash's doubts soon vanished when they made it past the front door of the headquarters. Gary led the others to a nearby corner, handing them the backpack full of their clothes as they tried to find a bathroom so they could change into their clothing. After changing, Dawn, Ash, Gary and Zoey began to look around to see if they could spot Eevee anywhere. Gary felt hopeless. Any of these rooms could be where they were keeping Eevee.

"We have to think. Where would Giovanni keep Eevee?" Dawn wondered aloud.

"It could be in any of these rooms." Ash answered. Gary turned to Ash and Dawn, beginning to wonder whether they were right. He did miss Eevee, but Giovanni was smart. He wouldn't just leave Eevee in a room where it would be easy to find them.

"Well, we better start looking." Gary declared. "Eevee could be anywhere in there…and I need to find her."

"And we will." Zoey assured him. "But Ash has a point. Any of these rooms can have Eevee. It would take forever just to look in all of them."

"Well, I'm not going to stop until I have Eevee safe and sound." Gary promised. He heard something behind him—so did the others. Ash and Dawn turned to Zoey who then gave Gary a worried look. Something was there. They could feel it.

"Guys, what was that?" Dawn's voice trembled.

"I don't think I _want_ to turn around." Ash honestly answered his girlfriend.

"Pika?" Pikachu's voice sounded as if he was scared as well. Zoey turned to the others before letting out a sigh. They all were too scared to even turn back around and face their fears. Zoey knew that it was going to have to be her. If it wasn't her, then who else was it going to be.

"Well then, I think I should be the one to turn around." Zoey admitted. Zoey turned her head, her eyes widening at the sight. Right before them was none other than the legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo. If Zoey had said something then Mewtwo would have been angry. But if she didn't then that was going to give Mewtwo the chance to hurt her friends. "Guys?"

"What?" Gary turned to her, still trying to avoid turning around.

"I think I found out who is behind us." Zoey tried to sound as brave as she possibly could.

"And who's behind us?" Ash looked to her.

"It's Mewtwo." Dawn and Gary quickly turned around but Ash tried not to look at him. Mewtwo had blasted him into the hospital once; he didn't think he could handle going to the hospital because of Mewtwo again. Mewtwo noticed Ash wasn't staring at him along with the others—which would have given Mewtwo the perfect chance to strike.

"Pika, Pika?!" Pikachu nudged Dawn to point to Ash, who was absolutely terrified.

"Ash?" Dawn looked to her boyfriend who didn't even bother looking over at her.

"Is Ash okay?" Zoey pointed to Gary. Before Gary could say anything, Mewtwo let out a shadow ball and aimed it right at Ash. Dawn pulled Ash out of the way at the last second, his face as still as stone.

"Ash, snap out of it!" Gary snapped at his friend. Dawn and Zoey looked at Mewtwo who started to aim another shadow ball right at Ash. They had to get Ash out of there so that they could still find Eevee. Dawn and Zoey knew they had to sacrifice themselves.

"Gary, you have to get Ash out of here." Zoey ordered him. "Dawn and I will take care of Mewtwo." Gary looked at Zoey as if she had two heads.

"Are you insane?" Gary practically screamed. "Ash couldn't beat Mewtwo the first time! If Ash can't beat him, then what makes you two so sure that you can?"

"Because we have a plan." Dawn quickly retorted. "Get Ash out of here, now." In any other circumstance, Gary would have argued with the girls but he knew that he was in no position to do any arguing.

"Come on Ash, let's get out of here." Gary said to his friend. Ash wasn't budging. Dawn and Zoey gave each other a look as Mewtwo came right up to them, his eyes cold.

"Ash, go with Gary to find Eevee!" Dawn ordered. "We'll take care of Mewtwo here!" Ash didn't bother moving. Mewtwo gave a cold smirk towards Dawn, meaning that he was probably going to use his shadow ball on her, thinking that Ash would never reach him in time. Mewtwo knocked Zoey out of the way, as Dawn began to back up, Mewtwo coming towards her.

"Are you all right, Zoey?" Gary ran up to Zoey, attempting to help her up.

"Mewtwo is after Dawn." Zoey pointed. Gary turned his head to see Dawn attempting to move backwards, away from Mewtwo. She found herself in the corner, Mewtwo right near her. His hands started to fill with a shadow ball leaving Dawn petrified. She didn't want to die this way. Not yet at least. Dawn closed her eyes to brace herself for what was coming next, but as she did she felt someone pull her away from Mewtwo. Mewtwo's shadow ball ended up hitting the nearby wall. Mewtwo, Gary and Zoey turned towards Dawn—only to find out Ash had pulled her out of the way. He was no longer trembling in fear—he was now trembling in anger.

"Ash just saved Dawn from Mewtwo…" Gary almost sounded shocked that Ash was able to get out of his funk so quickly. Ash pulled a Pokéball from his back pocket, twirling it in the air before throwing it. The Pokémon that popped out was none other than Torterra. Gary and Zoey knew that Ash had a plan, and that he wasn't going to stop until Mewtwo was out of the picture.

"Torterra! Use Hyper beam!' Ash commanded. As Torterra started to charge up, they couldn't help but hear an evil chuckle. Dawn, Ash, Gary and Zoey all turned to one another and even turned around towards the corners of the hallway. There was no one in sight. Except—Ash turned to Mewtwo and found that he was the one that was talking. He was talking telepathically.

"_Do you think that you fools can actually defeat Giovanni?_" Mewtwo let out a smirk.

"What does he want with Eevee?" Gary angrily wondered.

"_You still haven't figured out the plan yet?_" Mewtwo sounded as if he was taunting the teenagers. "_Such fools you are. I suppose since you are all going to die here, I might as well tell you. The only reason that Giovanni needed the other Eeveelutions was so he could find out the DNA of each of them. With Eevee being so compatible with the other Eeveelutions, Giovanni created a machine in order to tap the true potential of Eevee_." Gary and Zoey looked out at Mewtwo, furious that they were about to be outsmarted by Team Rocket—and worse of all by a talking Pokémon.

"You wouldn't hurt Eevee!" Gary growled.

"_Oh, but we would_." Mewtwo taunted Gary. "_There are no limits of what we can do_." At that point, Ash had enough. He was tired of running away from Mewtwo. He was tired of Gary feeling helpless because of Giovanni. He was tired of everything—and he wasn't going to take it anymore.

"That's it!" Ash yelled. Everyone turned to Ash, his hand clenched into a fist with is shaking. "You caused everyone that I care about grief and now I am going to make you pay."

"_Oh_." Mewtwo raised his eyebrow, giving Ash a sly look. "_You think you can challenge me, boy_?"

"I _know_ I can." Ash growled. Ash turned to Torterra who looked ready to attack Mewtwo with all the power he had. "Torterra, Hyper beam!"

"_So, you think your puny Pokémon is going to stop me?!_" Mewtwo flew up into the air, but he didn't get a chance to attack when Torterra's Hyper beam hit him square in the chest. Mewtwo flew back into the wall with a _CRASH_! Gary, Zoey and Dawn turned to Ash who looked dumfounded at what just happened. He meant to save his friends from Mewtwo…he didn't think Torterra had it in him to knock him out.

"Nice work children…you were able to take down Mewtwo." Gary's eyes widened at the voice behind them. Gary and Ash both knew who the voice behind them was. Gary turned around, hiding his fear—seeing the man walking towards them.

"Giovanni." Gary gave a slight whisper, anger trembling in his voice. Giovanni walked around Gary, Zoey, Dawn and Ash giving them a smirk. The kids knew one thing—they were in big trouble.

"In the flesh…"


	11. Finding Eevee

**A/N: It's a brand new chapter! In this chapter I made a hint towards two previous Pokémon movies. Can anyone guess which ones they are?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

Giovanni had the teenagers' right where he had wanted them. They were surrounded by ancient Pokémon. They were defenseless, knowing that their Pokémon weren't going to be able to take over his Pokémon. And they were about to become his prisoners—hopelessly standing around while he took over the world for the rest of their miserable lives. Giovanni paced back and forth, looking at the teenagers who stood there, not sure what to do next. He let out a smirk while staring right at Gary, the genius behind his brilliant plan.

"Did you four fools really think you were going to beat me?" Giovanni gave out a hearty chuckle. "When you know that I have Mewtwo, who is the most powerful Pokémon in the entire world." Gary clenched his teeth, trying to hold is tongue so that he didn't say anything else that could have jeopardized Eevee's well-being, but he was finding it harder and harder with every smirk Giovanni gave.

"I want Eevee back and I want her back now." Gary growled. "So you better tell me where she is or you are going to be sorry." Giovanni didn't look phased by Gary's "threat".

"I wouldn't dream of telling you where your precious _Eevee_ is." Giovanni snapped his fingers turning to Mewtwo who had recovered from the Hyper beam attack moments before. "But since you are all here, how about I give you a first look of my _greatest plan ever!_" Giovanni turned to Mewtwo who swept down and grabbed Ash and Dawn in one swoop.

"Let us go!" Dawn demanded.

"Ash! Dawn!" Gary yelled out towards his friends. Pikachu had seen just enough from Giovanni, becoming angrier and angrier by the second. Pikachu's tail began to light up, meaning that he was about to do something that no one was expecting. Before Giovanni or Mewtwo could say anything, Pikachu used Iron Tail on Mewtwo's foot, which forced Mewtwo to let Dawn and Ash go while he nursed his pain. Ash turned to his friend, seeing that Mewtwo's attention quickly turned to him.

"PIKACHU! RUN!" Ash commanded. Pikachu started running away from the scene as fast as he could with Mewtwo heading in tow. Gary and Zoey broke for it and started following Pikachu, hoping that everything was going to be all right over there. Ash and Dawn turned their heads to Giovanni who was trying to go after Zoey and Gary.

"Go and find Eevee!" Dawn yelled after Gary and Zoey. To prevent Giovanni from running after Gary and Zoey much further, Ash stuck out his leg as Giovanni tripped over it. Giovanni crashed into the ground with Dawn and Ash eyeing him, knowing that they probably shouldn't have done that. Giovanni turned to Ash but he didn't seem to look upset at the moment. Instead, he looked like he had bigger things to worry about.

"All right, you had what you wanted." Ash angrily growled towards him.

"But just what do you want to do with Eevee? Why _her_?" Dawn didn't understand why Giovanni was so into trying to take over the world with just an Eevee.

"What I am about to do will _eevelutionize_ the world." Giovanni gave a loud cackle. Dawn and Ash weren't impressed, they didn't even get why he had to use a pun to get his point across. Ash started to turn back around, but a familiar face was in his path. Ash knew who it was. It was none other than the Pokémon magician, out to make Ash and Dawn's life miserable.

"It's you." Ash felt his hands curl up into a ball, shaking in anger. Dawn wanted to reach over to Ash's hand to calm him down, but she realized that it would be better if the anger was directed elsewhere—more towards the man that almost killed him.

"In the flesh." The Pokémon magician walked towards Ash, knowing that Ash was still scarred from the last battle they had. "Did you really think you were going to get away from us? If you did think that—it was sort of cute to give your girlfriend false hope."

"Wait, how—how did you know…?" Ash raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out how the Pokémon magician knew he had a girlfriend.

"I've done my research on you, Mr. Ketchum." The Pokémon magician gave a sly smirk to the young teenager. "You're more powerful than you will ever realize. You've competed in Kanto, Johto, the Orange Islands, Hoenn and now Sinnoh…and all and all you actually managed to snag yourself a girlfriend. How could that have been possible?"

"If you watch television, you would know that I competed in all those leagues." Ash retorted.

"Yes, I would—but would I know about all the legendary Pokémon that you have faced just from watching T.V?" The Pokémon magician gave Ash a glare. Dawn turned to Ash in confusion.

"What is he talking about?" Dawn wondered.

"So, your little _girlfriend_ doesn't know about the adventures you had?" The Pokémon magician continued to laugh. "Well little girl, he's faced so many Pokémon that you would lose count. Let's see if I can name them, hmm…Mew, Mewtwo, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia, Entei, Unown, Latios, Latias, Celebi, Lucario, Jirachi, Manaphy, Darkrai, Giratina, Deoxys, Arceus and so much more…do any of those ring a bell Ash?" Dawn turned to Ash dumbfounded at the fact that he had faced all those Pokémon at one point or another. There was so much about Ash she didn't exactly know yet.

"And, what is that supposed to do? Make her mad at me?" Ash crossed his arms, giving the Pokémon magician a stern look.

"She doesn't know about all the _dangers_ you faced." The Pokémon magician turned to see Dawn looking at Ash with a jumbled look.

"Will you stop trying to wreck my relationship with my girlfriend because you're jealous?" Ash rolled his eyes. "It's not working."

"Why are you fooling around with the boy?" Giovanni shouted to the Pokémon magician. "We have work to do!"

"Says you." The Pokémon magician huffed. Giovanni ignored the Pokémon magician and turned to the teenagers.

"Now, how about we come quietly children." Giovanni said in a deathly calm tone. "That way you won't have to be a thorn in my backside." Dawn turned to the Pokémon magician, angrily still turning to him. She was filled with so much rage and anger. How did she know so much about Ash? And how was he so willing to kill him just so he could get an Eevee? Dawn's emotions seemed to have gotten the best of her since she pushed the Pokémon magician into the wall while pulling Ash with her. Ash was shocked to see the Pokémon magician rubbing his head—and he was more shocked that Dawn was the one that lost her temper. Giovanni turned his head to see Arceus coming from the other side of the room. "Arceus! Go after those two brats!" Giovanni hissed. Arceus quickly obliged, heading off to find Ash and Dawn before those two wrecked all of his plans. "I don't care if they are dead or alive! Just bring them to me!"

* * *

Ash and Dawn continued to run away from the scene, trying to avoid Arceus. Dawn spotted a room that was empty, which prompted her to get Ash's attention. Ash and Dawn slowly went into the room and shut the door, lucky enough that no one else was in there. Ash let out a long sigh while Dawn started to pace around the room. All the Pokémon the Pokémon magician mentioned. All those Pokémon were the ones that Ash had went after—and won against. Although he put himself in danger, he was still here and he was still alive. Dawn turned to Ash who was slightly out of breath from the run. Dawn walked over to look him in the eyes, just to make sure that he was okay.

"Are you all right?" Dawn asked, placing a hand on Ash's cheek. Ash stared into her eyes, nodding his head softly. He didn't know where they were, but he did know that they had to find Eevee and the others before they were all captured by Giovanni.

"Where do you think we are?" Ash questioned. Dawn turned her head trying to figure it out herself. It was rather dark, and it was a bit scary.

"I think we're in a room that needs some light." Dawn declared. Ash and Dawn began trying to find a way out of the room but Dawn continued to find herself distracted with the fact that Ash had sacrificed himself for different Pokémon over the years, and maybe she was afraid to lose him. She loved hm. She didn't _think _she did. She _knew_ she did. "So is it true?" Ash looked up to Dawn, interested in what Dawn was going to say. "Is it true that you were the one that had faced all those Pokémon?" Ash had a feeling that Dawn was slightly impressed—but her face expression said something different.

"Well, yeah." Ash admitted shrugging his shoulders. "Those Pokémon all either were in trouble or someone had to stop them from getting into trouble."

"But why you?" Dawn asked. "Why do all these Pokémon happen to cross upon you, and you have to feel like you're the one that has to save them." Ash knew that he was going to have to explain to Dawn eventually. He just didn't think it was going to happen now.

"I remember when I was looking for Pikachu once and I was with a Lucario trying to find him." Ash leaned against the wall, looking at Dawn. "He said that I had some type of aura that made me special. It was funny; he actually thought that I was his master or something like that." Dawn noticed Ash letting out a slight chuckle.

"But it didn't bother you that you could have lost your life at any of those times? That you could have died?" Dawn wondered.

"My mom was worried about that at one point." Ash realized that Dawn was almost on the verge of tears and now he became confused. "Hey, what's the matter?" Dawn tried to wipe away some of her tears but it proved to be too much. Ash walked over to make sure Dawn was all right. What was he thinking, of _course_ she wasn't all right. He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "Did I say something that I wasn't supposed to say?" He was taken aback a bit when Dawn wrapped her arms around him, clinging onto him as if he was a ghost about to leave.

"You could have died and you didn't care." Dawn mumbled. Ash finally understood what was bothering her.

"You're worried that I could have lost my life." Ash softly said.

"And I'm a little worried that you'll lose your life doing something stupid now." Dawn found the strength to look Ash in the eye. "And I don't think I can bear losing you."

"But you won't have to lose me." Ash promised.

"Ash." Dawn shook her head, giving him a sad smile. "You always sound so sure, like you're promising something. You're trying to promise me that you're going to stay alive but in reality, you're not sure. No one is sure what's going to happen."

"Dawn, I promise that I'm not going to die. I'm going to find Eevee; I'm going to fix this mess that I got everyone in." Ash vowed. Dawn continued to stare deep into his eyes, not sure whether she should believe him or not. Dawn engulfed him into a hug, not thinking of what she was saying next.

"I love you." Ash stared at her wide-eyed, not sure of what she just said. Dawn realized _what_ she said before turning her head to him and giving him a determined look. "You don't have to say it back. Okay? I just wanted to let you know how I feel, just how much you mean to me. And how I will never, ever forget that you're so selfless and you're a hero. I just wanted you to know that." Dawn turned away but Ash couldn't help but smile at her. While looking at Dawn he noticed right past her was a light switch.

"Look, a light switch." Ash pointed. Dawn was a bit disappointed that Ash didn't say that he loved her back, but right now he was thinking more on the terms of getting Eevee home. Dawn got up and went to turn the light switch and what they both saw surprised them. It was many Pokémon locked in cages, and when Ash and Dawn turned to the corner, they noticed the evolutions of Eevee in cages on a pedestal. While Ash and Dawn spotted the other Eevelutions, the question that came to their mind was where was Eevee?

"This must be the place where the Pokémon magician placed all the Pokémon." Dawn's voice was a mixture of shock and anger.

"We better start looking for Eevee." Ash continued to look around. "I don't see her." Ash started to quickly look through all the cages, but Dawn knew what Ash was really feeling. Ash was trying to find Eevee so that he would stop feeling guilty about letting the Pokémon magician get him.

"You still think that it's your fault that Eevee was stolen, don't you?" Dawn's suspicions arose.

"Yes, I still think it's my fault that Eevee is missing." Ash began to sound frustrated. "If I don't find Eevee and if something happens to her, then I would never forgive myself and worse—Gary will hate me for the rest of his life." Dawn had just about enough of Ash getting down on himself. She pinched Ash's arm in which he let out a slight yell. "What was that for?!" Ash practically screamed.

"I am not going to sit here and let you mope around as you continue to think this is your fault!" Dawn retorted. Ash looked at Dawn without saying another word. Was he really bringing himself that much down this whole time? "What happened with the Pokémon magician and Eevee was neither yours nor Gary's fault, so both of you need to cut it out. We're here now so we might as well start looking for Eevee and release the rest of these Pokémon back into the wild where they belong. You are a good person and you were trying to help Gary. That is what really matters." Ash continued to let Dawn's words sink into his mind. Maybe all he did was complain and whine about how it was his fault.

"All right, I'm so—"Ash started to say but Dawn placed a hand on his shoulder shaking her head.

"Stop saying sorry." Dawn ordered. "You don't have to be sorry. At this point, you don't have to apologize for anything." Ash noticed Dawn's face relenting and turning into a comforting smile. He quickly nodded his head, tired of bringing everyone else down. He was going to find a way to take down Giovanni and bring Eevee home without having to put a burden on anyone else's shoulders.

"All right, I'm through thinking this is my fault. I'm going to bring Gary his Eevee back if it's the last thing I do." Ash promised.

"That's the Ash that I know." Dawn beamed. Ash and Dawn's moment was interrupted however when the captured Pokémon looked a bit worried about what was going on. We're Ash and Dawn there to hurt them, or were they here to help. Ash turned around to see the Pokémon's nervous faced while letting out a smile.

"Have any of you seen an Eevee?" Ash wondered. The Pokémon stopped being defensive while quickly nodding their heads. Although they weren't sure where Eevee was, they had mentioned they seen one. Dawn noticed a pink Pokémon with a long tail in one of the cages, staring at her with her big blue eyes. Dawn nudged Ash, pointing to the cage at the same time. Ash walked over to the Pokémon as if it was nothing, while Dawn was cautious. "It's a Mew." Ash silently said.

"Mew?" Dawn repeated.

"Mew was one of the original powerful Pokémon from years ago." Ash explained. "Mewtwo is a copy of Mew, a Pokémon that Giovanni cloned years ago. That Mewtwo was the first legendary Pokémon that I had to face and prevent from taking over the world. Mewtwo eventually disbanded with Giovanni after he realized not all humans were bad. This isn't the same Mewtwo I faced years ago…this is a new one. But the problem is, this Mew is the same Mew. I recognize it from anywhere."

"So Mewtwo is a clone of Mew?" Dawn asked.

"Exactly and something tells me that Mew is here because without Mew, Mewtwo can't survive. It's a clone and without the original copy, if something went wrong then Mewtwo will die." Ash answered.

"Do you think that Mew knows where Eevee is?" Dawn pointed to Mew who continued to stare at them.

"Mew, have you seen Eevee?" Ash asked. Mew quickly nodded her head while Dawn and Ash looked amazed. "Really? Where?!"

"Mew." Mew pointed to the cage that was on the other side of the room and there sleeping was Eevee. Ash let out a wide smile as he ran over to the cage, excited to see Eevee was safe and sound. At first, Dawn worried that Eevee was injured but after watching her twitch and pretend she was playing with something, they came to the conclusion that Eevee was in a deep sleep and obviously dreaming about playing. Ash tapped on the glass softly, which startled Eevee from her sleep, but when she saw Ash and Dawn standing there she became excited. She was going to be rescued!

"Eevee! Eev!" Eevee exclaimed. Ash was glad to see Eevee was excited but he had to calm her down if they wanted to get out of this place alive.

"I'm glad that you're all right Eevee." Ash gave a wide smile.

"Eevee, I'm glad that you're all right but you have to be quiet." Dawn couldn't help but smile at the cute Pokémon.

"How are we going to open the cage so that Eevee could get out?" Ash scratched the back of his head. "We have to get her out of there."

'Which is why I always bring an unlocking kit with me everywhere I go." Dawn grinned as she went into her backpack to pull out an unlocking kit. Ash had to admit, Dawn was full of surprises.

"I need to be careful with you." Ash jokingly said. "Who knows what things you have in your pockets." Dawn couldn't help but blush at Ash's comment while trying to pick the lock. After some attempts, Dawn was finally able to get the lock open—and Eevee was able to be rescued. Eevee jumped into Ash's arms, licking his face in happiness. "All right, all right. Down Eevee." Ash couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad to see you too. Gary has been worried sick about you."

"Speaking of Gary, how do we get out of here so we can find him?" Dawn questioned. Ash thought for a moment while nodding his head. Dawn did have a point there.

"I'm not sure." Ash shrugged his shoulders. "But we do have to get the other Pokémon that were locked up out of here, especially the Eeveelutions. Do you think you can get the others out while Eevee and I guard the room?"

"No need to worry." Dawn yelled out her catchphrase and quickly got to work. Ash and Eevee went to the entrance of the doorway to make sure that none of Team Rocket's grunts were coming this way. Ash however couldn't help but turn back to see Dawn unlocking the cages of the Eeveelutions. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was distracted. In fact, he was more stunned that Dawn had told him that she loved him. A smile crept on his face watching Dawn open the cage to the missing Vaporeon and patting the Pokémon's head. Ash was clueless about a lot of things but if there was anything he was sure about, it would be this—he loved Dawn as well.


	12. Suspicions Arise

**A/N: Here's the brand new chapter of the story. I want to know what you think of the story so far, so don't hesitate to write a review. Enjoy the chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do love it. **

* * *

On another part of the Team Rocket headquarters, Gary, Zoey and Pikachu wandered aimlessly around, trying to see if they could find Eevee, or if they could find Ash and Dawn and recruit their help. Gary continued to make way through the hallway, wondering if there was a door where they could slip in and try to plot their next plan from there. While looking for an empty room, Gary couldn't help but wonder if Ash and Dawn were all right. After all, they were last seen around Giovanni and anything could have happened since them. Gary hoped that Ash and Dawn were able to get out of the situation and continue the search that got them there in the first place. Gary noticed Zoey looking at him with a small smile, wondering if he was all right. He seemed a bit distracted, and Zoey felt like she had to be the one to rid Gary of his fears. Zoey grabbed Gary's hand, intertwining her finger with his while giving him a comforting look. Gary quickly relaxed and they continued their search. Gary found a nearby room that the door was wide open, Zoey and Pikachu following. Gary entered the room and finally noticed where he was—he was in Giovanni's office. He was able to see all of everything that went on in the Team Rocket organization just from the view of a camera. Gary scanned the cameras quickly before turning to Zoey and Pikachu. There was no sight of Ash and Dawn anywhere. Gary felt a bit dejected, but turned his head to see the projector flashing on the wall. _What does Giovanni have here, _Gary wondered. He looked to the screen and what he saw shocked him. It was all of Gary's research on the board, being used in a Team Rocket scheme. All of Gary's hard work was going to end up hurting his friend.

"I can't believe they used my research for evil." Gary softly said. He thought he only spoke loud enough for himself to hear, but when Zoey placed a hand on his shoulder, he knew it wasn't the case.

"I'm sorry Gary." Zoey apologized. She stared at the screen where Gary computed all of his findings. Giovanni had probably memorized everything at this point. Gary knew that if he was going to beat Giovanni, he was going to have to outsmart him. The question was, how was he going to do so?

"I knew I should have stuck to being a trainer." Gary angrily spoke.

"Gary, you don't mean that." Zoey shook her head. Gary shrugged off Zoey for a moment, looking at the findings that were on the board.

"I wanted to step into the shoes of my grandpa and looked what happened!" Gary shouted pointing to the board on the wall. "Instead, I get some plan about a machine that is going to be used for evil and could make Giovanni the ultimate ruler of the Pokémon world."

"But that's not going to happen." Zoey assured him. "Has Giovanni ever won before?"

"Not really, no." Gary admitted. Zoey placed a hand on Gary's cheek, giving him an assuring smile.

"So that means he's not going to get away with this." Zoey promised. "If there's one thing I know, it's that you are smart enough to figure all this out. If you can come up with research about Eevee and her evolutions being able to change the world, you can come up with a way to stop Giovanni in order to foil his plans. I know you're smart enough, so why don't you see that?" Gary listened to every word that Zoey was saying, and he felt more pumped up with each word. He could do this. He could save the world! All he had to do was figure out a way to get Eevee out of Giovanni's clutches and take it from there. Gary and Zoey were into their moment—but they didn't realize Pikachu was staring at them with a smile on his face. _Young love, _Pikachu thought to himself. Rejuvenated, Gary stood up wondering what would be the next phase of the plan.

"Maybe we can look at the cameras and see if we can spot Ash and Dawn from here." Zoey suggested.

"Good idea." Gary nodded. They headed over to the cameras, trying to see if there was a way that they could find their friends and possibly rescue Eevee. Zoey touched the dials on multiple cameras, trying to see if she could find Ash and Dawn. Gary continued to look along with her, a determined smile on his face. He was going to save Eevee and end Giovanni's reign for the last time, but he had to admit he was going to need backup.

"PIKA!" Pikachu spoke up, pointing to one of the cameras. Zoey and Gary looked in the direction Pikachu was pointing and hollering about and there was none other than Ash and Eevee on the camera.

"It's Ash!" Zoey exclaimed.

"And he has Eevee!" Gary suddenly felt himself relax, seeing that Eevee was safe and that there was no harm done.

"Now we have to figure out a way to get out of here." Zoey mentioned.

"That sounds like a good plan." Gary nodded his head. "But we're going to need my research if we're going to get any farther than this."

"I don't think anyone is going anywhere." Zoey and Gary turned to one another in fear. Neither of them had said anything, and they were almost _certain_ that Pikachu couldn't talk. The question was, who was the one that opened their mouth? Gary looked over to the door to find the Pokémon magician standing there with Mewtwo. It was time to gather all the teenagers just so that they wouldn't meddle much longer.

"What are you doing here?!" Gary sounded almost shocked. The Pokémon magician walked into the room, Mewtwo in tow.

"I figured that you would be in here." The Pokémon magician let out a smirk. "Your Eevee is going to be used for a special project, whether you like it or not." It emerged on Gary that the Pokémon magician had no idea that Ash had freed Eevee. He still thought that Eevee was captured!

"I doubt that Eevee would ever want to help you." Gary played along.

"Well, you think she's not going to help me." The Pokémon magician gave a smile to Gary. "But she will be forced to do my bidding."

"I don't think so!" Gary shouted before turning to Pikachu, hoping that he would listen. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped from the table, electricity flying towards Mewtwo from the Thunderbolt. Gary thought that it was going to be a direct hit—instead Mewtwo was able to bounce back the thunderbolt right towards Pikachu. Pikachu had no choice to absorb the thunderbolt, or else the guards would have been in here in a moment, restraining the teenagers from their quest.

"How did you do that?" Zoey tried not to sound amazed at Mewtwo, but found it to be harder than she thought.

"Well, that's a secret that I know and you don't." The Pokémon magician turned to Mewtwo who cracked his knuckles, ready to fight the two teenagers. "Mewtwo, make sure to take care of them." Mewtwo walked towards Gary, Dawn and Pikachu; a sly look appearing on its face showing no mercy. Gary had to figure out a way to get away from Mewtwo, but he found it to be no use. Mewtwo was quicker than he was, Mewtwo was stronger than he was and ultimately, Mewtwo looked as if he was going to finally win. Mewtwo let out a shadow ball, hitting Gary, Zoey and Pikachu in the process. Gary tried everything he could to stay awake but he felt his eyelids get heavier and heavier. He couldn't keep them open any longer. Gary collapsed on the ground, Zoey and Pikachu in tow as the Pokémon magician couldn't help but let out a smirk. _That was easy_, the magician thought. He turned to Mewtwo who looked interested in the cameras that surveyed all over the headquarters. The Pokémon magician made way to the cameras when he was shocked with what he found out—Ash had found Eevee and she was free from her cage. It wasn't going to end this way. They had to figure out a way to get rid of Ash, Dawn and Eevee once and for all. It was time for the Pokémon magician and Giovanni to unleash plan C.

* * *

Johanna paced around the living room, thinking of all the dangers Dawn and Ash could have encountered on the journey. She felt that something was a little off when Dawn never called to check in and she was getting even more anxious as the hours went by. Professor Oak had to admit that he was beginning to feel the anxiety as well. It wasn't like Gary not to keep him updated. They would usually do so no matter how big or how difficult the task was. With Gary forgetting to even call Professor Oak, it made him think Gary could have been in some kind of danger—or worse.

"We should have heard from them by now." Johanna spoke up, now standing in place and tapping her foot.

"You're right, Johanna." Delia agreed. "It's not like Ash to not even call or anything. Something must be wrong."

"We might have to go to Officer Jenny now." Brock tried to fit into the conversation. He wasn't missing a son or a daughter or even a grandson on this journey, but Ash, Dawn and Gary were Brock's friends and the last thing he would want to see is them get hurt or worse, killed. "She could be the last chance we have for help."

'That sounds like a good plan." Professor Oak quickly agreed. "Why don't you go and get Officer Jenny while we think of a plan on how to locate the others." Brock quickly headed out the door off to Officer Jenny's building. While Brock took care of that, the other adults looked to another hoping that one of them would have some advice.

"So how are we going to find the children?" Johanna asked. Professor Oak stroked his chin while thinking and just like that, he knew what he was going to do. He led Delia and Johanna outside to Johanna's backyard, taking out a Pokéball in the process.

"This better work." Professor Oak said to himself before throwing the Pokéball in the air, a Dragonite popping out. Johanna marveled at the size of the Pokémon but curious as to how Dragonite was going to find the kids.

"How is Dragonite going to find Dawn, Ash and Gary?" Johanna wondered. Professor Oak took Gary's travel pouch out from his backpack for Dragonite to smell.

"I was hoping that I could use Dragonite's smell to find Gary and the others. Dragonite would sniff Gary's travel pouch since it has Gary's distinct smell." Professor Oak informed the two mothers. "Then, Dragonite would fly off and see if he could locate them while we tag along. We'd have to wait for Brock to get back from the Pokémon police station with Officer Jenny before Dragonite can find them."

"It sounds genius." Delia admired. Johanna had to agree that Professor Oak's plan was simply remarkable, like always. The only issue was—would Brock get back before something else happened to the kids?

* * *

At the Pokémon police station, Brock entered through the revolving doors, hoping that he could find Officer Jenny. He noticed Officer Jenny working on a call and suddenly, Brock felt his heart skip a beat. He had a thing for almost every woman, but his heart would grow the fondest for the Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy of the particular town. Brock ran over with hearts in his eyes, drooling over what he thought was the most beautiful woman in the entire world.

"Officer Jenny." Brock gushed. "I never noticed how your eyes look so radiant in this light. Maybe we should go out for a candlelight dinner and some ro—"Brock didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. In the minute that it took, Croagunk came out of its Pokéball to give its owner a poison jab. Brock hollered in pain as Croagunk started heading towards the exit, dragging Brock along with him.

"I don't have time for your games." Officer Jenny snapped. "I'm looking for the Pokémon magician who has been hunting down Pokémon, especially the Eeveelutions. Now if you will excuse me." Brock suddenly remembered what he was doing there. He was going to give information about the Pokémon magician.

"That was actually what I came here for. " Brock walked back to the table, Croagunk following him to make sure he wasn't going to get full of himself again. "Some friends of mine went after the Pokémon magician after he stole one of my friends' Eevee and we haven't heard from them in days." Officer Jenny dropped her pen, looking Brock in the eyes with shock and horror.

"Did you say that your friends went to follow the Pokémon magician and they haven't been heard from in days?" Officer Jenny sounded a little too dramatic for Brock's liking.

"That's exactly what I said?" Brock answered nervously.

"Why did they go and follow him?! Are they insane?!" Officer Jenny added. Brock and Croagunk looked to one another before turning back to Officer Jenny.

"My friend was missing his Eevee and he thought the only way that he could get Eevee back was by following the Pokémon magician." Brock pointed out. "His Eevee means a lot to him."

"Well, I wonder if they found him. If they did, that would be more luck than I would have." Officer Jenny looked dejected.

"What's wrong Officer Jenny?" Brock asked.

"Everyone is expecting me to be the one that finds the Pokémon from the Pokémon magician." Officer Jenny admitted. "But the problem is that I don't even know what I'm doing. I mean, he's sneaky and he's deceiving. How am I supposed to find someone who has all those horrible talents and bring him to justice when I have no idea where he is?" Brock couldn't help but feel bad for Officer Jenny. He had remembered Gary and Ash telling Dawn that Officer Jenny was going to take care of everything, that she had everything under control. It didn't seem that way now. Officer Jenny was just as frazzled and confused as everybody else.

"Don't worry, if you'd like we'd be able to help you." Brock pointed towards Croagunk with a smile. "We also have Professor Oak who's looking for his grandson."

"Wait a minute, hold the phone." Officer Jenny put her hands up. "Did you say that Professor Oak is looking for his grandson?"

"Yeah." Brock nodded his head. "Gary Oak was the one who went after the Pokémon magician after the magician stole his Eevee."

"Well, you could have told me that first." Officer Jenny crossed her arms while raising an eyebrow at Brock. "So where are we going to find Professor Oak?" Brock pointed past the village where the town houses were.

"He's staying with a friend of ours working on some Pokémon research." Brock explained. "Gary was working on a project as well, something about the Eeveelutions." Officer Jenny's eyes widened in shock as Brock spoke.

"Did you say something about the Eeveelutions?" Officer Jenny inquired.

"Yeah, you see Gary was doing research about what makes Eevee's DNA so different from the other Pokémon. Unfortunately, the Pokémon magician along with Team Rocket's help used Gary's information against him." Brock tried to stay as calm as he possibly could, but Officer Jenny was beginning to freak him out.

"I remember the Officer Jenny in Cerulean City talking about that." Officer Jenny thought for a moment. "She was talking about Team Rocket and how they were out to cause destruction. Your friend never should have tampered with Eevee's DNA. The things that he found out could alter the Pokémon universe forever. Wherever he is now, he has to be the one to fix it."

"As much as I'd like Gary to fix what he had done, there's no way that we can communicate with him. We're worried that he's injured." Brock didn't have to say much to get Officer Jenny away from her table.

"We're going to have to find your friend." Officer Jenny looked determined. "We're also going to need to find the Pokémon magician and stop him before he causes harm to any other human being. Do you know how many calls I've gotten about him stealing a Pokémon this week? About 30 calls alone."

"Well, don't worry. If we do this right then the Pokémon will be back with their owners and the Pokémon magician will end up behind bars." Brock assured her. Officer Jenny nodded her head, following Brock out of the Pokémon police station. They had a crook to catch.

* * *

"All right then, so Dragonite was able to get a scent of Gary and will proceed to follow." Professor Oak told the others.

"Sounds great." Officer Jenny nodded her head. "But does Dragonite know just what it's looking for?"

"No matter where Gary is, we'll find the location." Professor Oak answered. "As long as we find Gary then we'll know where the others are."

"Sounds like a good plan." Johanna nodded her head.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Professor Oak patted Dragonite's back as it flew into the air, hot on Gary's trail. "We need to find the others before the Pokémon magician does something horrible to them."

"I just have a quick question." Officer Jenny raised her hand. "You seem so sure about finding this Pokémon magician. Do you recognize his battling style or something?" After Officer Jenny asked the question, Professor Oak needed time to think about it. He had seen someone with almost the same style a long time ago, but it wasn't until he was in the Pokémon academy teaching a class that he really thought about who it could have been.

"Wait a minute." Professor Oak pondered.

"Is something wrong, Samuel?" Delia questioned her longtime friend.

"As a matter of fact, there is something that's bothering me about the Pokémon magician." Professor Oak thought for a moment before continuing. "I've seen that style of battling he has before. I last saw it at the Pokémon academy. I wonder if it's the same person that was kicked out of the school all those years ago."

"Someone was actually kicked _out_ of the Pokémon academy?" Brock asked. He was surprised since no one hardly ever got expelled from there. Everyone who went there wanted to become a better Pokémon master and better his or her technique. He was almost certain that the person that went there was expelled or else why would they seek revenge on all things Pokémon.

"There's something that I want to search." Professor Oak got out the tablet from his backpack and did a quick scan of the Pokémon academy class roster. Once Professor Oak reached a certain name, his face turned cold. "I knew I recognized the Pokémon magician." He turned the others, intent on now getting some payback of his own. That same man had almost killed his grandson, almost killed his grandson's friend, made Gary go on an intense journey just to _find_ Eevee and who knows what could have happened over at the Pokémon magician's final destination.

"So what do we do now?" Officer Jenny wondered. Professor Oak looked down at the tablet in his hands, putting it away, and his face expression never changing.

"We're going to go and get my grandson back—and make than man sorry that he ever messed with Professor Oak."


	13. A Hero Arrives

**A/N: Here's the new chapter of the story! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

A half hour later, Dawn unlocked the last cage in the dark room. The other Pokémon continued to stare at her as the Flareon exited the cage to shake out her fur. She turned to Dawn, wagging her tail as a way of telling Dawn 'thank you' and went over to the other Eeveelutions. Dawn noticed Ash standing in front of the door with Eevee, guarding the place to make sure that nothing dangerous would come into the room. Dawn couldn't help but stare at Ash, seeing him taking care of Eevee was actually the single most cutest thing she had ever seen. She put the unlocking kit back in her backpack before turning to all the other Pokémon that were sitting there, waiting for her to say or do something.

"So, what do we do now?" Dawn asked.

"Now we have to get them out of here." Ash instructed. Dawn and Ash turned to one another, staring into each other's eyes before turning away. Ash looked to Eevee who looked determined to find Gary and end this monstrosity once and for all. "Let's go." Ash, Dawn and Eevee peered out the doorway before making their way down the hall—with the other recently freed Pokémon.

"How are we going to go unnoticed with all of these other Pokémon?" Dawn wondered. Ash looked over to Dawn while thinking for a moment.

"You know, I didn't think that part through yet." Ash admitted.

"What do you mean you didn't think it through yet?!" Dawn practically scolded him.

"Shh! Keep it down." Ash ordered. "Do you want everyone else to hear that we're trying to plan a breakout?"

"Not exactly." Dawn blushed furiously.

"All right then." Ash sighed. Just then, Ash and Dawn heard Eevee make a noise that sounded almost like a whimper. Eevee? Whimpering? That can't be good. Ash and Dawn looked up—and what did they know. Arceus was standing over them, looking rather upset.

"Arceus!" Dawn gasped. Without Pikachu, Ash didn't have a Pokémon that was stealthy enough to attack and yet not make a scene. He was trapped—until Eevee's tail began to glow and smacked Arceus across the room. Ash and Dawn stared at Eevee dumbfounded, not sure what just happened.

"Did Eevee just use Iron Tail?" Ash turned to Dawn, hoping that she had an answer.

"I don't know." Dawn looked at Eevee in awe. Eevee turned back around towards Ash and Dawn, not sure what was bothering them. Gary had been teaching Eevee some new moves. It was time that she used them.

"Eevee's got guts." Ash proudly smiled at the small Pokémon. Eevee jumped onto Ash's shoulder before the others decided to find Giovanni and the others.

"All right, now we have to find the machine that Giovanni planned on using." Dawn turned to Ash and Eevee.

"But first…" Ash pointed out with Dawn following Ash's finger. Arceus stood up, looking more furious than ever. Ash had to think of a plan on how to get out of this mess. Ash turned his head to see Jolteon standing there, electricity crackling from it. Ash then had an idea on how defeat Arceus. He was going to use the Eeveelutions that they just freed in order to defeat the evil legendary Pokémon. "This better work; Jolteon use thunderbolt!" Jolteon charged up and let out electricity which hit Arceus square in the chest. Ash turned to the Flareon, letting out a smile. "Flareon, use flamethrower!" Flareon unleashed a Flame thrower that was so powerful, it was able to knock Arceus out. Ash and Dawn quietly celebrated their small victory, but now they had bigger fish to fry. They had to find Gary, Zoey and Pikachu in order to get out of here. Dawn and Ash ran the corner with the other freed Pokémon until—they noticed the Pokémon magician standing in their way.

"You again!" Dawn yelled out in anger.

"Yes, me again." The Pokémon magician taunted the teenage girl. "You may be wondering where your friends are? Well, we took care of them. Giovanni was willing to let you two live the rest of your sorry lives in here—but now he has no choice but to kill you." Ash turned to see Dawn almost in a rage. After what the Pokémon magician had done to Ash and Gary, emotionally scarring them and making them come on this dangerous journey, he was trying to kill them off once and for all. She had just about enough of this.

"Let us go, and no one gets hurt." Ash growled.

"You all know too much." The Pokémon magician was beginning to frighten the others. "You all know more than what you are supposed to."

"You have to be kidding me." Dawn rolled her eyes at him.

"I have never been more serious in my entire life." The Pokémon magician walked towards Dawn, Dawn looking unfazed. "Eevee is the key to all of my plans and I won't have you two trying to wreck all of Giovanni's hard work. As if the research wasn't enough and if kidnapping Eevee didn't make you and your friend vulnerable, now you two want to come here, free all the Pokémon and attempt to escape. Hand over Eevee, now."

"NO WAY!" Ash had just about enough of this. "I let Gary and Eevee down once and I am not going to do it again! Eevee, Iron Tail!" Eevee jumped off Ash's shoulder, her tail glowing in one swift motion before hitting the Pokémon magician and making him fly backwards. The Pokémon magician tried to get up but found that Dawn and Jolteon were standing over him. Dawn's clenched her fists while Jolteon stared at the Pokémon magician.

"This is for putting my boyfriend in the hospital." Dawn coldly told him. Dawn flipped the magician over towards Jolteon and gave him a nod. The Eeveelutions ran towards the Pokémon magician and started attacking him with Ash and Dawn watching in awe. Ash turned to Dawn looking stunned while Dawn turned back to her boyfriend. "What?"

"Remind me to never make you angry." Ash pointed towards the Pokémon magician who was still being attacked by the Eeveelutions.

"Trust me, I'd never feed you to the different Pokémon like that." Dawn gave Ash a comforting smile. Ash reciprocated the smile then turned serious.

"I have an idea on how we can stop Giovanni's plan." Ash said.

"How do we do that?" Dawn wondered. Ash turned his head, pointing towards the control center and leading Dawn and Eevee towards it.

"Let's go. The Eeveelutions will take care of the Pokémon magician for now." Ash promised. Dawn and Ash ran to the control room and entered, surprised by what they saw. A machine that was attached to multiple tubes all connected to a power source that was in a glass case. Ash must have figured that Eevee was supposed to go in the glass case in order to suck all of her power and present it to Giovanni to make him the extreme ruler of the Pokémon world. Ash couldn't believe it. If Eevee had went into that machine, she would have surely died. There had to have been a way to prevent Eevee from sacrificing herself. Ash knew he promised Dawn that he wasn't going to die—but someone had to stop the machine. Someone like him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dawn asked.

"If Gary's research can build this, then his research can find a way to destroy it." Ash reasoned. "While Eevee and I try to find a way to destroy this, you need to go and find Gary and Zoey."

"And leave you here by yourself?" Dawn questioned.

"It's the only way." Ash sighed. "I'll be fine. I promise." Dawn didn't know whether she should leave Ash or not, but she didn't have time to think when Ash pulled her close to him. "Remember when you told me that you loved me and I didn't say anything back?"

"How could I forget?" Dawn sounded a bit hurt by Ash bringing back that moment.

"The point is…I love you too." Ash admitted. "And you don't have to say it back if you don't want to." Dawn realized what Ash had done there and let out a warm smile.

"I love you." Dawn leaned in to kiss Ash gently. They stayed that way for a moment before Dawn placed her forehead on his. "Please be careful. I can't lose you."

"And you _won't_ lose me." Ash tried to convince her. Dawn nodded her head, slowly walking away from Ash. She left the room hoping that Ash wasn't about to do something incredibly stupid in order to save the world. Little did Dawn know, in the room Ash let out a couple of tears, afraid that he might never see Dawn again. But he had to do what he had to do. He had to save the world, even if it meant sacrificing himself. "We need to find a way to break this machine."

"I don't think you'll be able to." A voice came from behind Ash and Eevee. Ash quickly turned around to see Giovanni standing there, letting out a slight smile.

"What are you doing here?" Ash shook his head.

"Did you really think that you were going to be able to stop my plans?" Giovanni cackled. "But since you are so interested in seeing how this machine works, I suppose that I could show you." Giovanni motioned towards the Team Rocket grunts to take Eevee but Ash knew he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Eevee or Gary down.

"STOP!" Ash screamed. Giovanni and Eevee both turned to Ash, a determined look on his face. "If you're going to take anyone then you better take me. I'm more powerful than Eevee."

"You?" Giovanni scoffed. "How are you more powerful than a Pokémon?"

"Because I am." Ash growled. "I have an aura. A Lucario told me."

"A Lucario?" Giovanni sounded interested all of a sudden. Ash looked to Giovanni, hoping that he was able to convince him not to do anything to poor Eevee. "All right. Put the Eevee in a cage in case it doesn't work. You my boy, are going to make me supreme ruler of the Pokémon world." Ash looked to see Eevee being thrown into one of the cages that happened to be there in the middle of the room.

"Eevee! Eevee!" Eevee screamed towards Ash almost as if she was saying, 'Please Ash. Don't do this.' Ash turned his head away from Eevee looking down to the floor.

"I'm sorry Eevee, but this is something I have to do in order to make sure that you're safe." Eevee looked at Ash sadly, feeling tears form to her eyes. Ash was about to sacrifice himself—all because of her. She hoped that Dawn would find Gary and Zoey before it was too late. She couldn't bare see anything happen to Ash. She just couldn't.

* * *

Dawn walked along the corridors unseen, hoping that she could find Gary, Zoey and Pikachu. There had to be some way that she could find them—but how? Dawn's question soon received an answer when she turned her head to hear someone behind one of the closed doors. Dawn wondered and soon went to the door to hear what was making a noise. She pressed her ear to hear the slight muffled groans of Pikachu. Dawn quickly opened the door to see Gary and Pikachu waking up, and they both looked like they were hurt!

"Oh my goodness! Gary! Pikachu!" Dawn ran towards her friends, kneeling alongside Gary as he woke up. "What happened? Are you okay?" Gary looked over to Dawn shrugging his shoulders.

"Ugh, we were attacked by Giovanni and his Mewtwo." Gary weakly said.

"Are you both all right?" Dawn wondered.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Gary assured her.

"Pikachu, Pika." Pikachu nodded. Gary turned his head around the room, panic suddenly forming in his mind.

"Um, did you find Zoey?" Gary turned to Dawn.

"No, I didn't find Zoey." Dawn admitted. "Do you think that she's in here?"

"She has to be." Gary stood up from the floor, turning in all directions to make sure that he found Zoey. Dawn and Pikachu agreed to help Gary look all around—but when they finally did find Zoey, it wasn't what they expected. Zoey laid motionless on the floor, probably still feeling the attacks of Mewtwo. Gary ran over to her, kneeling next to Zoey in hope that she was going to be all right. "Zoey? Zoey, please wake up." Gary started to nudge Zoey, but alas she wasn't budging. Dawn and Pikachu began to worry that something happened, so they made their way towards Gary to lean next to him.

"Gary?" Dawn softly said. Gary continued to shake Zoey in hopes that she would wake up but still, nothing happened.

"Zoey! Please wake up!" Gary began sounding desperate, his voice breaking. Dawn felt tears come to her eyes as Gary continued to shake her. "Zoey!" Gary broke down and started to cry. He couldn't believe it. Zoey couldn't have been dead! She couldn't have been! Gary's cries turned into sobs upon realization that he just lost the most important person in the world. She sacrificed herself in order to come on this journey to save Eevee and to make Gary realize that she cared about him. Now Gary might never hear her voice again, he might never feel her hugs again, and worst of all, he might not be able to kiss her—ever. Dawn and Gary continued sobbing and Pikachu was almost on the verge of tears—until Mew entered the room to see the sad scene in front of her. Pikachu nudge Dawn and Gary, who turned towards the flying pink Pokémon as Mew headed towards Zoey. Mew placed a hand on Zoey and in a flash of a second, Zoey started to glow. Gary and Dawn's eyes widened as Zoey began glowing a bright pink. What was Mew doing? Mew let go of Zoey after countless minutes, with Gary and Dawn eyeing her. Gary noticed Zoey's eyes beginning to flutter meaning that Mew had brought Zoey back to life. Zoey's eyes opened as she sat up, wondering what the fuss was about.

"Wha…what happened?" Zoey weakly said. Gary's smile widened, seeing that Zoey was awake and he went in to hug her.

"Thank goodness you're all right." Gary let out a sigh.

"Gary, what's wrong with you?" Zoey couldn't help but let out a small smile. "You look like you were crying."

"Maybe I was." Gary blushed, continuing to hug her. Zoey couldn't help but reciprocate the hug, letting out a wide smile. Dawn smiled at her two friends before turning to Pikachu who had the same look on his face. Gary's face turned serious as he looked around, Ash nowhere in sight. "Dawn, where's Ash?"

"He was trying to stop the machine." Dawn said. "Eevee's with him."

"Great, so let's go find him." Gary stood up along with Zoey as they turned to Dawn. Dawn, Zoey, Gary and Pikachu exited the room in order to head back to the control room to find Ash, but when they did they found Giovanni in the room, Eevee in a cage, and Ash forcibly hooked to a machine meaning one thing—Ash had been planning to sacrifice himself for Eevee this whole time. Dawn's eyes widened in shock and anger.

"We have to do something." Dawn turned back towards the others.

"And what do you suggest we do?" Zoey sounded just as worried as Dawn did. Dawn thought for a moment while watching Giovanni intently.

"We need to short circuit the machine. That way, Ash won't have to hurt himself." Dawn shook her head.

"I have an idea, but we'll need a power source." Gary had a plan racing through his mind. "Pikachu, would you care to help me?"

"Pika!" Pikachu sounded determined to end this once and for all.

"All right, let's go." Gary motioned Pikachu to follow him. Gary and Pikachu found a light switch towards the end of the hallway while Gary continued to calculate his plot. "All right, Pikachu you have to use Thunderbolt on the power switches, that way they'll burn out and the power will shut down." Pikachu nodded his head towards Gary and let out an electrical charge towards the power switches. Gary watched in awe as the lights began to flicker. "Yes!" Gary congratulated Pikachu once the lights went out. Pikachu and Gary ran back to the main room to find Giovanni had wondered what made all the lights go out.

"What on earth?! What happened to all the lights?!" Giovanni turned around to find Dawn, Zoey, Gary and Pikachu standing before him.

"Let Ash and Eevee go and no one gets hurt." Dawn growled.

"I _will_ rule the world!" Giovanni stood up and quickly walked over towards Dawn. "Even if I have to kill your little boyfriend to do it!"

"You wouldn't." Dawn patience began to run thin.

"Oh but I would." Giovanni smirked. He wasn't expecting Dawn to grab his arm and flip him towards the other Team Rocket grunts. Gary and Zoey watched in shock, surprised to see Dawn flip Giovanni over. Gary came to the conclusion that Dawn had just about enough of Team Rocket trying to harm Ash and Eevee, so she took matters into her own hands.

"Remind me not to make you angry." Gary sheepishly said after taking it all in.

"Just remember that, Gary." Dawn clapped her hands as if she had accomplished something. She turned to see that the machine was missing—and so was Ash and Eevee. If Dawn knew Ash like she knew she did, he had escaped with Eevee and he was still intent on trying to destroy the machine.

* * *

Ash had unlocked the cage that Team Rocket put Eevee in while staring at the machine. He still had the machine in his hand while thinking for a moment. He had to destroy the machine and he was fortunate that Dawn, Gary and Zoey had played a key role in distracting Giovanni—even if they didn't know it yet. Alone in the dark quiet room, Ash placed Eevee to the side while trying to power up the machine again. If he could get it on, then he could destroy it.

"Eevee?" Eevee looked to Ash as if she was saying 'What are you doing?'

"We have to find a way to short circuit this thing. That way if we can power up, then we can find a way to destroy it. I could probably short circuit it if I use it." Ash explained.

"Eevee, Eevee!" Eevee said as if she was saying, 'Let me use the machine. It was made for me. I can destroy it'.

"No, I can't have you do this." Ash turned to Eevee. "Gary would miss you if anything happened to you." Ash let out a sigh as the lights went on. He didn't have anything to do with the lights, but at least now he could destroy the machine.

"Eevee, Eev." Eevee refused to let Ash harm himself, but all Ash did was let out a sigh.

"Eevee, stay there." Ash sighed. When Ash turned around, Eevee knew that she had to find Gary and get his help. It was the only way that she could save Ash's life. Eevee ran out into the hallway, curiously peering into each room, trying to find her owner. She looked into one of the rooms to find Gary, Zoey and Dawn contemplating on where they could find Ash.

"Eevee!" Eevee yelled out. Gary, Zoey and Dawn turned their heads to find Eevee standing right before them. Gary thought his mind was playing tricks on him for a moment, but after realizing that Eevee was alive and well, Gary ran over to her to engulf her in a hug.

"Oh, Eevee. I'm so glad you're okay!" Gary felt tears stream down his face, holding Eevee tightly. Eevee would have enjoyed Gary's embrace, if she didn't have news to tell them.

"Eevee! Eevee!" Eevee got Gary to let go of her as she explained what Ash was about to do.

"Where is Ash, Eevee? We need to find him now." Dawn looked over to Eevee while she led the way. Dawn knew Ash was about to do something that he was going to regret. As they continued to run towards the room that Ash was in, Dawn was hoping that they weren't too late. As soon as the group turned the corner, they found Ash and the machine—and Ash was holding one of the hookups in his hand, as if he was about to use it. "Ash Ketchum! Put that down now!" Dawn yelled. Ash turned around shocked to find Dawn and the other standing there. Ash noticed Eevee standing with Gary, realizing that Eevee must have told him what was going on.

"What are you doing?" Gary scolded. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"I'm not letting Eevee put herself through danger." Ash answered. "Someone has to sacrifice themselves in order to make sure Eevee's not going to get hurt."

"Ash, just please think about this." Gary pleaded.

"I have already thought about this." Ash wasn't budging. "You can either have me or you could have Eevee. But this time, you can't both." Ash grabbed the hook, about to put it on himself when Gary turned to Dawn, hoping that maybe she could be the one to convince him that what he was doing was the wrong way to go.

"Ash! Please." Dawn said, her voice beginning to break. "You promised me that you weren't going to do something that was going to make me lose you! Please." Ash's heart began to break, hearing Dawn plead that way, but this was something that he had to do.

"I'm sorry Dawn, but—I have to do what I have to do." With that, Ash hooked the machine to himself and flipped the switch with Gary, Zoey and Dawn in shock hearing Ash's painful screams fill the room.


	14. A Magician's Identity Revealed

**A/N: Here's a new chapter of the story! Hope you guys enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, but I wish I did. **

* * *

Outside the Team Rocket headquarters, Professor Oak's eyes opened wide in surprise. He should have known that Team Rocket had something to do with this mess. Professor Oak turned back to the others, as they were a bit confused. What were they doing here? Gary couldn't possibly be here, could he? Professor Oak felt himself becoming angrier with the whole situation, but he knew for Gary's sake he had to calm down. There was no use in being worked up if it was only going to get them caught.

"I should have known that Team Rocket was a part of this." Professor Oak growled slightly.

"Those thieves!" Brock sounded angry as well.

"But I don't get it." Johanna wondered. "What would Team Rocket want with the children?"

"They want their Pokémon but since the children got involved, they won't hesitate to harm the children either." Professor Oak explained.

"What do you think is going on in there?" Brock asked. Professor Oak thought for a minute, not sure what they could have wanted, but he knew one thing—they had to get the kids out of there before something bad happened.

"We need to find a way to get in." Professor Oak said aloud. "Which means we could either dress up like them to get inside, or we could have Dragonite bust the front door open."

"And which one would Dragonite be willing to do?" Brock asked the Professor. Professor Oak turned to Dragonite whose face looked determined—and right at the door.

"My answer would be he wants to bust the front door open." Professor Oak gave Dragonite a reassuring smile. Dragonite released a powerful Hyper beam that broke through the front door, allowing the others to enter. If they were going to find the kids, they would have to work fast. The lives of the children depended on them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gary, Zoey and Dawn looked horrified at the scene before them. Ash was trying to destroy the machine once and for all by using it on himself—but all that was doing was harming him and draining away his life power. Dawn had to figure out a way to save Ash. After all the times that he had been known to save them, she felt that she needed to return the favor. Dawn turned her head to find Mew being chased by Mewtwo into the room when the sight before them was almost a little too much to bear. Mewtwo let out a snicker while Mew tried to cover her eyes. She couldn't believe that the boy that had rescued her was willing to risk his own life in order to save a Pokémon. Mew's eyes turned to Eevee who in Gary's arms looked as if she was going to cry. Ash was saving her—but he was killing himself for her.

"Mew, Mew!" Mew yelled to Eevee as if saying 'you have to save him Eevee! You're the only one that can save him now.' Eevee turned her head towards Mew, not sure what to do.

"Eevee, Eev?" Eevee questioned as if saying, 'You want me to help him? He won't let me.'

"Mew, Mew, Mew!" Mew answered back as if saying, 'You need to save him Eevee. The machine can only be destroyed by one of the Eeveelutions. Since you are the original of the Eeveelutions, you can save the machine and save your friend before he dies! Giovanni and the Pokémon magician _want _him to die so he won't be a threat anymore. This is a part of his plan.' Eevee turned her head to Ash, thinking about Mew's words for a moment. If anyone was going to save Ash, it was going to have to be her. Eevee squirmed out of the arms of Gary and ran towards Ash, her tail beginning to glow.

"What is Eevee doing?!" Zoey sounded shocked.

"I don't know, but I'm afraid to find out." Dawn shared the same expression.

"Eevee! No!" Gary yelled after her. Normally, Eevee would have obeyed Gary but this time it was different. Ash was going to be a distant memory to everyone if she didn't do something. Eevee went to the main power source of the machine and slammed it with her tail, causing the machine to go up in smoke—and Ash and Eevee to fly backwards. Eevee tumbled back to Gary while Ash lay on the ground for a moment. Dawn and Zoey ran over to Ash, worried that he could have been dead. Zoey placed a hand on Ash's chest, letting out a relieved sigh.

"He's breathing." Zoey told Dawn. Dawn felt tears come to her eyes and a smile on her face. The boy that she loved was alive.

"Thank goodness." Dawn sighed. Ash slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he tried to get up.

"What happened?" Ash wondered. Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash's neck as she began to sob. Ash responded by giving her a tight hug while assuring her that everything was okay.

"I thought I was going to lose you!" Dawn looked into Ash's eyes, anger boiling.

"But you didn't." Ash responded sheepishly. Dawn didn't know whether to stay mad at him or to kiss him. They were knocked out of their moment when Mewtwo began to corner them.

"_Did you really think that you were going to win that easily?_" Mewtwo let out a snicker. "_No one can defeat the powerful Mewtwo!_"

"The only reason that you are powerful is because of Mew!" Gary shouted out. Mewtwo turned to Gary, furrowing his eyebrows.

"_What did you say?_" Mewtwo's voice sounded eerily calm.

"I said, you're nothing without Mew. If Mew was to die, you'd go along with her!" Gary shouted.

"_That's what you'd think_." Mewtwo scoffed.

"It's true!" Gary continued to pester the Pokémon. "Your DNA is the same as Mew's which is why you're such a perfect clone. Since they were able to clone you, your DNA's are linked together, meaning that if Mew was to die, then you would die too. Whatever happens to Mew, would have to happen to you."

"How did you figure that out?" Dawn turned to Gary.

"When I was doing my research on Eevee, I also was able to look up what past researchers have done." Gary informed them. "My grandfather was studying the DNA makeup of Mew and Mewtwo."

"_FOOLS!_" Mewtwo screamed out loud. "_I do not need Mew in order to survive! I can do quite fine on my own!"_

"Oh yeah?" Gary taunted Mewtwo. "I don't think so."

"_That is it! You will be the first to die!"_ Mewtwo started forming a shadow ball in his hands in order to scare Gary, but before Mewtwo could launch it, Eevee ran straight into Mewtwo, causing him to fall back, grimacing in pain.

"Eevee!" Gary yelled out. On one hand, Gary was glad that Eevee had knocked over Mewtwo, but that was only going to give Mewtwo motive in order to kill Eevee. Eevee jumped off Mewtwo's chest, getting into position to fight but everyone heard a sarcastic clap come from the other side of the room. Everyone turned their heads to see the Pokémon magician.

"Well, well, well." The Pokémon magician noticed Eevee standing in front of the group of teenagers as if she were guarding them. "You may have ruined the initial plans to take over the world with Eevee, but there is still one thing that I could do." The Pokémon magician pulled out three stones and Gary automatically knew what they were for.

"Evolution stones." Gary slightly whispered.

"That is right." The Pokémon magician paced back and forth. "Mewtwo, why don't you entertain our friends?" Mewtwo quickly headed towards the group of teenagers and pinned them against the wall, forcing them to watch the act that was about to take place. "Hmm, a Jolteon, Vaporeon or a Flareon. I only have one option to turn this Eevee into any Pokémon that I desire."

"Leave Eevee alone!" Gary cried out.

"PIKA!" Pikachu let out a cry as well.

"_Eevee_…is no more." The Pokémon magician began to walk towards Eevee, but she started walking backwards, hoping that she could find some way to get out of this mess. Eevee found herself trapped, when she hit the wall, and with no tight corners, It looked like she was on her way to becoming the Pokémon she didn't want to be. "With one tough of any of these stones, Eevee will evolve."

"Please don't do this!" Ash screamed out. "Forcing a Pokémon to evolve is wrong and you know it!"

"It has to be done!" The Pokémon magician screamed. He turned his attention back to Eevee but gave Ash a quick glare. "You double crossed me once. I need to teach you brats a lesson. Now…let's do this shall we?" Eevee closed her eyes, afraid of what was going to come while Gary and Ash looked in fear. They couldn't let Eevee evolve. It would have been too much to bear.

"Hyper beam! Now!" A voice yelled from the door. Gary and Ash turned their heads towards the door, wondering who it could be. Gary automatically recognized the Hyper beam as it hit the Pokémon magician square in the back and allowed Eevee a chance to escape. A Dragonite entered the room, staring at the Pokémon magician with a determined look on its face. The Pokémon magician was still struggling to get up while Dragonite turned its attention on Mewtwo. Mewtwo let go of the teenagers, eager to get into a fight with a different Pokémon for a change—but quickly got out of its battle stance when Professor Oak entered the room.

"Grandpa!" Gary yelled eagerly.

"Leave that Eevee alone magic man, or should I call you…Cornelius." Professor Oak let out a smirk as he walked into the room. The teenagers turned to the magician, seeing that he was getting up from his position. Gary realized that the man looked familiar—that was the man that his grandfather told him about years ago.

"His name is Cornelius?" Dawn sounded confused. _Not much of a bad guy name now is it, _Dawn thought.

"The very same, Cornelius Preston." Professor Oak explained before turning to his grandson. "Gary, do you remember the story that I told you?"

"Yeah, he was a student of yours." Gary recalled.

"Precisely." Professor Oak nodded before turning to the magician. "He was obsessed on trying to figure out the true power of the Eevee evolutions. Stealing a teenage boy's research, Cornelius. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"You can't stop me!" Cornelius stood up, pointing to Professor Oak. "No one can stop me. This Eevee _will_ evolve and there is nothing that any of you can do about it!" Eevee was standing behind Gary, not feeling brave all of a sudden.

"Can he really do that?" Zoey turned to Ash, whispering softly.

"I honestly think he's bluffing." Ash whispered back.

"I don't know what all of this is about Cornelius." Professor Oak started walking towards his former student. "But Pokémon are not toys. They are living beings and they don't want to be with you." Professor Oak didn't anticipate Cornelius grabbing him and holding him a threatening position.

"Grandpa!" Gary screamed. Gary didn't notice Eevee running from behind Gary straight for the magician and the Professor. Eevee opened her mouth wide and chomped down on the magician's leg in which he promptly let go of the professor. Cornelius pointed to Mewtwo, which prompted the evil Pokémon to grab the two closest objects in the room—Ash and Dawn.

"Let us go!" Dawn screamed at the Pokémon.

"Let them go Cornelius, now!" Professor Oak commanded. Mewtwo turned his head to Professor Oak giving him a slight smirk. Dawn felt worried about what could have possibly went wrong, which prompted Ash to grab her hand in comfort. Dawn turned her head to Ash, a worried expression on her face quickly softened at his caring gesture. Johanna, Delia and Brock entered the room, finally finding Professor Oak after being split up and the sight that Mewtwo captured Ash and Dawn put the mothers on edge. Eevee had enough of Cornelius trying to take over the world, so she did what she had to do. She ran towards Mewtwo and bit his leg, prompting Mewtwo to quickly let go of the couple as they hit the floor.

"Dawn!" Johanna ran to her daughter.

"Ash!" Delia ran to her son.

"We're okay." Ash and Dawn both sounded a bit irritated while rubbing their heads. The mothers engulfed their children in a hug, which slightly embarrassed them.

"You almost killed my grandson, almost killed his friend, stole my grandson's Pokémon, made them go through all that trouble to get Eevee back and you plan to harm them and their girlfriend's?" Gary had never seen his grandfather act that way before, never in his entire life. "You stole a lot of Pokémon, but when you mess with my grandson then you mess with me."

"Girlfriend?" Gary turned his head to Zoey who said her thought out loud. Gary blushed heavily at Zoey's comment. He didn't even ask Zoey if she wanted to be his girlfriend, and now his grandfather made things so much more awkward.

"I will be the most powerful magician out there!" Cornelius let out a slight grin.

"The only way that you are going to be comfortable is from the comforts of jail." Professor Oak scoffed.

"Very well then." Cornelius cackled before looking at Mewtwo. "Mewtwo, after Professor Oak's grandson." Gary turned his head to see Mewtwo walking towards him, a shadow ball in his hand. Gary was in trouble—he knew it.

"Gary! Look out!" Professor Oak sounded worried. Mewtwo turned to Zoey, grabbing her instead of doing what his master had told him.

"_What's wrong Gary_?" Mewtwo cackled. "_Upset that I have your girl_?"

"Gary, get out of here with Eevee!" Zoey told him. "As long as she's safe then your job is complete!" Gary was torn for a moment. He was glad that Eevee was safe, but he didn't want to leave Zoey behind.

"I won't leave you behind Zoey." Gary shook his head.

"Gary, stop being hard headed and go!" Zoey yelled.

"I'm not going to leave you!" Gary shouted. "I love you too much to let you go!" Gary didn't realize what he just said, so he backtracked for a moment. "I mean, uh…"

"Gary, did you just say that you love me?" Zoey raised an eyebrow sounding confused.

"I, well…I…" Gary stumbled. Eevee snuck up behind Mewtwo and bit Mewtwo once again, causing Mewtwo to holler in pain. In the midst, Mewtwo let Zoey go and Gary quickly grabbed her. Gary and Zoey quickly ran out of the room, releasing a sigh. Gary turned to Zoey, his face turning bright red at the comment he made moments before. _What was I thinking,_ Gary thought to himself. _Now she'll never like me_.

* * *

Back in the room, Cornelius figured that the best way to deal with the children was to plan one final attack on the children. He was wondering what was taking Giovanni so long to come and defeat them. It didn't matter to him, he would crush the children anyway.

"Now, for one final attack." Cornelius let out a hearty laugh but one teenager had just about enough with Cornelius and his nonsense.

"That's it!" Ash yelled from the corner of the room, prompting everyone to turn to him. "You want to destroy Gary and his Eevee. Fine, but you're going to have to go through me first!" Dawn turned to her boyfriend with a disappointed look on her face. _There he goes, being a hero again_, Dawn thought sadly. _It's like he has some chronic hero syndrome_. "How about a battle Mewtwo!" Ash challenged. Mewtwo haughtily laughed along with Cornelius.

"Please boy, you think that you can take down this Mewtwo?" Cornelius smirked.

"You really don't know who you're talking about, magic man." Dawn crossed her arms, staring at the magician.

"Ash, that magic man took you down once." Gary overheard from outside the room and entered the room in a haste to try to convince his friend that this was a mistake. "And Mewtwo defeated you once, he'll try to do it again."

"He's not going to take me down again." Ash sounded determined. "I'm tired of hiding and being afraid of Mewtwo. This ends now magic man! If you want to battle me, then go ahead! I'm ready!"

"Sounds like a match to me." Cornelius smirked. Dawn pulled Ash to the side not sure if this was a good idea.

"Ash, are you sure about this?" Dawn wondered.

"I'm sure. Cornelius and his Mewtwo put is through a lot of danger. I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and just let him take over. Besides, this is a chance that we can end this once and for all." Ash's face softened looking at Dawn but her face turned stern. She was still a little upset that Ash broke his promise but she couldn't let it show right now. Right now, she had to be supportive of his decision.

"Just…be careful out there." Dawn turned away from him, starting to walk away. Before Ash could go and get Dawn to figure out what was bothering her, Giovanni stood behind them, his suit tattered and his face furious.

"So you think that you are all that kid? Is that what you think?" Ash turned his head, looking at Giovanni angrily. "If you want to win the battle, then we might want to give you some spark. Just saving the lives of your best friend and his Pokémon isn't enough."

"And what did you have in mind?" Ash was afraid to know, but asked anyway. Giovanni walked over to Dawn, seeing that she was terrified that he was in front of her.

"How about your precious girlfriend." Giovanni let out a snicker. "If you beat Mewtwo, then not only do you and your friends get to leave but we'll never bother you again. If you _lose_ however, Eevee has to come with us for experiments…and your girlfriend stays here by my side for the rest of her miserable life."

"You can't do this!" Johanna yelled out, worried for Dawn's safety. Ash simply looked at Dawn who nodded her head slowly. She was telling Ash that he had to take the bet and just hope that he was going to win. Ash didn't want to put Dawn through any harm, but he didn't have a choice. He had to save Dawn's life—and he had to protect his honor. He finally turned to Giovanni, his face stone cold. He knew what he had to do.

"I accept your challenge. If I win, we leave…and if I lose…then Dawn stays here along with Eevee…forever." Gary put his head down in sadness. The fate of Eevee, Dawn and the world were in the hands of a sixteen-year-old boy…and there was nothing anyone could do about it.


	15. The Final Battle

**A/N: Here's a brand new (and long) chapter. Hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think of the story so far.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon...but I wish I did. :)**

* * *

Ash was led to a locker room that led to the battle stage that was inside Team Rocket. None of Ash's friends could believe that he was willing to battle a Mewtwo with just Pikachu. They had tried to talk Ash out of it as if he was crazy, but Ash wasn't budging. He was determined to defeat Mewtwo with Pikachu. It was with Pikachu or it wasn't with anyone at all. While Ash sat alone in the Team Rocket locker room, the others were out in the arena sitting down, hoping that nothing was going to go wrong. Gary turned his head towards Giovanni, anger rushed through his blood as he continued to stare at Giovanni of Team Rocket. He had to find a way to speak to Ash before the match.

"Hey." Gary coldly said towards the Team Rocket boss. Giovanni looked at Gary, a smirk forming on his face.

"What is it twerp?" Giovanni sounded uninterested to talk to Gary at that moment.

"I demand that you let us at least talk to Ash before you make him go out there with the world on his shoulders." Gary said.

"And since when do I give into demands?" Giovanni gave Gary a hollow chuckle.

"It's only fair. If Dawn is going to lose Ash to you then you should at least let them say goodbye to each other." Gary shrugged his shoulders, sounding nonchalant.

"What is Gary getting at?" Brock whispered to Professor Oak.

"I'm not quite sure." Professor Oak admitted. "But I do have to admit that it's clever."

"You made your point Oak." Giovanni said towards Gary. "You and the girl have five minutes to talk to your hero. To say goodbye—the both of you." Gary looked to Dawn while she stared back at him, not sure what he was thinking. Gary motioned Dawn to follow him to the visitor's locker room. They had to speak to Ash before the battle started.

* * *

Gary and Dawn made their way to the locker room, surprised to see Ash sitting there in a quiet state as if he had already lost. Gary knew that Ash was still scarred from the incident with Mewtwo in Dawn's backyard, so he was still nervous. Gary put a hand on Dawn's shoulder, motioning to talk to her before they headed over to Ash.

"I know that you're not happy with Ash right now, but he needs you." Gary tried to reason.

"He promised though." Dawn was sounding a bit bitter.

"He promised that he was going to keep himself out of danger." Gary scoffed. "Yeah, Ash may promise that but he knows that it's one he can't keep. He has what we like to call 'chronic hero syndrome'. He tends to be a hero even when he doesn't have to be."

"Really?" Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he just feels like it's up to him to save the world." Gary gave Dawn a small smile. "I see him like this almost all the time—but this is the first time that I've seen him depressed when trying to save the world."

"Why do you think that is?" Dawn questioned.

"It's simple." Gary's face became serious. "He doesn't want to lose you. You'd be surprised how much he talks about you when you're not around—and it's all good. He loves you Dawn. To lose you would be the ultimate price that he'd have to pay."

"Can I tell you something?" Dawn hoped to confide in Gary.

"Sure, what's wrong?" Gary wondered.

"I was the one that told Ash to take the bet. So if you're going to be mad that you lose Eevee to Giovanni, it's my fault." Dawn looked down.

"I'm not mad at you Dawn, because I know that Ash is going to win." Gary said in a soothing voice.

"But what if he doesn't? What if because of me, Ash loses everything he ever cares about?" Dawn looked down. Gary looked up to see Ash and Pikachu sitting on the bench, frightened themselves.

"I think right now, Ash needs to hear good things in order to go out there and defeat Cornelius." Gary sighed.

"You're right." Dawn tried to hide her tears. Gary and Dawn walked over to Ash, hoping for the best. "Ash?" Dawn softly said. Ash looked up and noticed Gary and Dawn standing there.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ash looked confused.

"We're here because we came to wish you good luck." Dawn told him. She placed a hand on Ash's shoulder, which prompted Ash to get up and submerged Dawn in a hug.

"I promise, I'm going to win." Ash sighed. Dawn broke the hug, raising an eyebrow.

"Ash, you need to stop promising things." Dawn sounded a bit irritated. "If you know there's a promise that you can't keep, then you can't promise me." Ash looked at Dawn, noticing the hurt in her eyes. "Look what promising got you into this time? You can't promise anything. You got that?" Ash nodded his head slowly while Gary looked to his friend.

"We know that you can beat Mewtwo, Ash." Gary assured his friend. "And you're not going to lose Dawn. Because, there's something I want to tell you about. Mewtwo's DNA is a bit unstable, so you could probably be able to destroy Mewtwo once and for all."

"That's good news…right?" Ash questioned his friend. Gary took a deep breath and sighed.

"It is good news…but, there's also a problem." Gary looked over at Dawn and Ash. "If Mewtwo dies in battle, then so does Mew. And even though Mew helped Eevee defeat that gigantic machine, there's no way that Mew could withstand the damage that Mewtwo would take."

"So Mew would get hurt too?" Dawn wondered.

"No, she wouldn't get hurt." Gary sighed before continuing. "But she will die if Mewtwo gets killed. It's as simple as that."

"Yikes." Ash looked down at the floor, unsure if he could go through with it. "I don't think I can do it. I have to kill Mewtwo in order for all of this to be over. I can't…" Dawn put a hand on Ash's shoulder, making him look her in the eye.

"Ash, you can do this. I know you can." Dawn reassured him.

"But…" Ash looked down, unsure if he could actually go through with it. "I've never hurt a Pokémon on purpose. That's not me."

"I know it's not you." Dawn said in a soothing tone. "But Mewtwo isn't just your average Pokémon. He's out there to kill everyone and he will do everything that Cornelius and Giovanni tell him. I know you don't want to do this, but think about it—Mewtwo is bent on destruction. That's not what you want, right? You don't want Mewtwo to try to destroy the world and harm everyone you love, right?" Ash shook his head, tightening his grip on Dawn. Dawn grabbed Ash's hand but continued to look straight at him. "You can do this Ash. I have faith in you. And…if on the chance that you don't win, it was an honor to be your girlfriend." Dawn placed a kiss on Ash's cheek and he looked saddened.

"I don't want to say goodbye to you." Ash looked down.

"And you won't have to say goodbye." Dawn placed her free hand on Ash's cheek, giving him a reassuring smile. "You can do this." Dawn placed her forehead on his, giving him a light kiss on his lips. Gary turned away for a moment, to give the teenagers their moment of privacy when he noticed Giovanni entering the room. Ash turned his head to where Gary was looking. He knew this was it. It was show time. Ash got up from his seat, turning to Gary and Dawn before looking back at Giovanni.

"I'm ready." Ash walked past Gary and Dawn, staring at the head of Team Rocket.

"You better." Giovanni let out a chuckle. Ash turned back to Gary and Dawn before heading to the arena. Gary and Dawn couldn't let Ash go through with this. They had to find a way to help him from the stands. They were his friends after all. "Let's go you two. You're watching from the stands." Dawn looked at Gary who grabbed her hand to pull her back for a moment.

"I have a plan." Gary whispered. Dawn nodded her head quickly to prevent Giovanni from noticing them. Gary just hoped that this plan was worth it.

Ash stood on one side of the gym while Cornelius stood on the other. He was nervous, and to add to that he was a bit scared. He never would have thought that he would be scared. He wasn't scared of anything. Except this time there was more than just a stupid gym badge on the line. The world was on the line, Eevee was on the line and most importantly, Dawn was on the line. Ash took a deep breath while Cornelius pretended to count time from his invisible watch.

"Oh please. A Mewtwo, versus a Pikachu?" Cornelius said in a teasing voice. "You have to be kidding kid."

"I'm not kidding around." Ash looked to Pikachu who gave his owner a gaze that was similar to his. Ash nodded towards his Pokémon before Pikachu turned to Mewtwo for some unfinished business.

"I should have a laugh about this." Cornelius looked over to Mewtwo who was only interested in defeating Ash so that Giovanni could rule the world. "Let's do this." In the audience, Brock wasn't so sure if Cornelius was willing to play fair with Ash.

"I'm a little worried about Pikachu." Brock admitted. He turned to his friends with a concerned look on his face. "Can he really take on a legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo?"

"At this point, I'm not exactly sure." Dawn admitted. She didn't want Ash to think that she was giving up on him, but the odds of Ash winning the match with just Pikachu was a little slim. She had no choice though. She had to give Ash her complete faith, that is—if she wanted to not be in the clutches of Team Rocket for the rest of her life.

"All right then, how about we start with Shadow Ball!" Cornelius let out a slight chuckle. Mewtwo started to fire up the Shadow Ball, but something had caught Gary's eye. The shadow ball was nowhere aimed for Pikachu—instead it was as if Cornelius was aiming straight at Ash!

"Wait a minute…" Gary turned to Dawn and Brock, looking concerned. "Mewtwo is aiming for Ash!"

"What?!" Zoey shouted out.

"NO!" Dawn screamed. Ash and Pikachu turned to one another before Pikachu realized what was going on. Pikachu turned back to his owner looking worried.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu screamed. Ash looked up at Cornelius and Mewtwo and realized what had Pikachu in such frenzy. The shadow ball was going to hit him, which would have guaranteed a knockout.

"Pikachu?" Ash sounded as if he was a little panicky. "RUN!"

"PIKA!" Pikachu and Ash started to run off as Mewtwo let the shadow ball go. Luckily, the shadow ball didn't hit Ash, but instead went off and hit the wall of the gymnasium. Ash and Pikachu turned to see Mewtwo continuing to chase them, feeling worried that they weren't going to be able to outrun Mewtwo and Cornelius forever.

"Get the boy, Mewtwo!" Cornelius screamed. "Make the boy pay!" Dawn couldn't watch the horror of the scene anymore. She had to figure out a way to save Ash and Pikachu before they were both killed in the hands of Mewtwo. She remembered what Gary had said in the locker room before the battle; how Ash was going to have to kill Mewtwo in order to stop him from harming the world. Dawn now felt that the world was in _her_ hands, and that she had to do something to save the boy she loved.

"I have to do something." Dawn told herself. She went for the Pokéball that her mother had given her before the journey and ran down the steps towards the arena.

"Dawn! Get back here!" Johanna ordered her daughter, but Dawn wasn't listening to her mother at that point. _I am so going to get grounded for this later, _Dawn thought to herself. She jumped over the railing that led to the arena while throwing the Pokéball in the air. An Umbreon popped out of the Pokéball, looking out at the scene ahead, knowing that it was up to it and Dawn to save Ash and Pikachu.

"Since when did Dawn get an Umbreon?" Gary scratched his head looking confused.

"Since I gave her the Pokémon before she went off to find the Pokémon magician." Johanna explained. Gary turned back to the stage, noticing the Umbreon's shiny coat.

"Umbreon looks like you've taken very good care of it." Gary looked over to Johanna.

"I've trained Umbreon well." Johanna let out a small smile before turning serious once more. "I just hope that Dawn knows what she's doing, and she doesn't make a rash mistake."

While running, Ash was beginning to feel tired and was beginning to lose his breath. He didn't know how much longer he was going to continue running away from Mewtwo. He looked over to Pikachu, seeing that his best friend was also beginning to feel the effects of tiredness. As much as Ash and Pikachu wanted to stop running, they knew they couldn't. It would just leave a window of opportunity for Mewtwo to strike and the Pokémon magician to win.

"Keep running Pikachu!" Ash yelled to his friend, feeling out of breath.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded in the same tone. What Ash and Pikachu didn't expect was Mewtwo somehow ended up in front of them, which halted them completely. They turned around to find Cornelius smirking at them, meaning that it was time for Ash and Pikachu to give up completely. Ash released a sigh, knowing that it was possibly time to give up—and that he was possibly going to die. _This can't be how it ends_, Ash thought to himself trying to keep the tears away, _It just can't be. I can't leave Dawn_.

"Any last words, _hero_?" Cornelius mocked the teenage trainer. Before Ash could say anything, a powerful shadow ball came from out of nowhere and knocked the daylights out of Mewtwo, forcing the Pokémon to fly into the wall. Ash and Cornelius turned their heads to find none other than Dawn with an Umbreon, standing before them.

"I have some words." Dawn kept her eyes on Cornelius with a growl. "Stay away from my boyfriend."

"Oh, isn't that adorable." Cornelius sarcastically said. "The girlfriend is coming to save the _hero_." Cornelius let out a maniacal laugh towards the teenage girl. What Cornelius didn't expect was Giovanni looking almost baffled at Dawn and the Umbreon.

"That Umbreon…it's one of the most powerful Pokémon of its kind that I've seen!" Giovanni raised his eyebrows.

"There is no way in the world that the Umbreon there is Gary's." Ash whispered to Pikachu.

"Pika." Pikachu agreed with his trainer. Ash and Pikachu turned their heads to find Mewtwo getting up from his position, about to attack the teenagers and side with Cornelius. If they couldn't have Gary's Eevee to help them destroy the world, the next best thing was the Umbreon.

"Give me the Umbreon little girl, and no one gets hurt." Cornelius pushed Ash and Pikachu to the side, allowing both of them to hit the ground with a thud. Ash turned his head to find Dawn becoming trapped by Cornelius and Mewtwo. He wasn't going to let Dawn get hurt by none other than the Pokémon magician. He had to think of something to save her, before it was too late. An idea sparked in Ash's mind and just like that, Pikachu and Ash were off and running once again—this time with a plan.

"I'll never give Umbreon to you." Dawn hissed at the evil magician. Cornelius turned to the Umbreon before giving Mewtwo a nod, meaning it was fine to attack them. Dawn didn't want this to be it. It couldn't end this way. The bad guys couldn't win. Dawn didn't expect Pikachu flying in the air towards them, with the aid of none other than Mew! Cornelius, Mewtwo and everyone in the audience looked in the same direction. The Pokémon that had helped Eevee through this ordeal was now realizing that it was time for this monstrous game to end and what better way by helping Pikachu get rid of Mewtwo and Cornelius. Giovanni felt that the battle was getting a little too intense for his liking, so he started heading up the stairs, leaving Gary and Eevee to follow him and try to get payback for all the trouble he had put them through.

"Mew!" Cornelius sounded shocked.

"Mew, what are you doing here?" Dawn wondered.

"Mew, Mew!" Mew pointed towards Mewtwo as if she was saying 'I'm here to put an end to Mewtwo and his horrible ways, even if it means sacrificing myself.'

"_Please, you think that you can beat me?_" Mewtwo scoffed. Mew unleashed a Hyper Beam, which knocked Mewtwo off its feet and onto the ground.

"Mew, Mew." Mew answered, her eyebrows furrowing as if she was saying, 'I'm the real Mew. You're just the clone. You will never be stronger than me.'

"_And…you think by yourself you can stop me?!_" Mewtwo got up, but as soon as he did, Pikachu was barreling towards him with an Iron Tail and Volt Tackle, about to strike. Mew took the time to also let out a gigantic Hyper beam, one that would slam into Mewtwo and send it across the wall. Mewtwo had almost no strength, which Mew had felt as she started falling to the ground. Ash ran over and caught Mew before she hit the ground, but looking into her eyes, he knew that Mew was dying. Dawn turned over to Mewtwo who was still on the ground, also noticing that Mewtwo was dying. Cornelius couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mewtwo was about to die due to two annoying children and their Pokémon. He wasn't about to lose the battle to be the supreme ruler of the Pokémon World.

* * *

Giovanni was about to exit the Team Rocket building when he heard footsteps following behind him. He didn't have any of his Pokémon, and he was the only one on the floor, meaning that he was trapped. Giovanni turned his head to see Gary and Eevee standing there, anger boiling through their blood. Gary was almost in a mood where he felt like revenge was the only option. Giovanni's plan was to kidnap Eevee, take Eevee away from him, and almost destroy her just so he could be the supreme ruler of the Pokémon world. Eevee was angry because she knew that Mew was dying and what was a better way to avenge her than to hurt the scumbag that had put her through so much danger.

"What do you two want?" Giovanni growled. Gary and Eevee walked forward which prompted Giovanni to take a step back.

"You put us through a lot of danger just so you could try to be the supreme ruler of the Pokémon." Gary snarled. "And for that you must pay."

"Please, you're a Pokémon researcher." Giovanni snickered. "What are _you_ going to do to a ruler like _me?_"

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you." Gary felt his hand tighten up into a ball. "But Eevee _will_ hurt you." Gary turned to his faithful companion, ready to attack Giovanni. Giovanni noticed that Eevee wasn't joking. She was ready to attack him. "Eevee, use bite." Eevee snarled towards Giovanni, ready to attack but neither Gary nor Eevee were prepared for what Giovanni had up his sleeve. Giovanni pressed a nearby button that released smoke throughout the room, prompting Gary and Eevee to get into a coughing fit.

"You may have won this time boy, but next time, you won't be so lucky." Gary attempted to keep his eyes open to see if he could keep a visual on Giovanni, but as soon as he had his vision back Giovanni was gone. Eevee and Gary looked around the room, clenching their teeth in anger and despair. They let Giovanni get away, which means he was still out there hurting Pokémon. Although Giovanni had gotten away, there was still the Pokémon magician that had to be tamed. Gary and Eevee rushed back to the gym to find that the scene had turned somber. Mewtwo was dying—and so was Mew. Eevee rushed over to Mew's side, hoping that Mew was going to wake up any moment and convince her that everything was going to be all right. Eevee twisted her head to the side, nudging Mew with her foot, hoping that she would get up.

"Eevee? Eev?" Eevee softly spoke as if she was saying, 'Mew, please you need to get up.' Mew opened her eyes slowly to get a good look at her new friend—unfortunately the last friend that she was going to make. With Mewtwo about to die in a matter of moments, Mew didn't have enough time to explain to Eevee what was going on here.

"Mew, Mew…Mew, Mew." Mew softly replied as if she was saying, 'Eevee, it's time for me to go. I can't live if Mewtwo is dead. I am the original. He is the clone. I hope that you understand.'

"Eevee?" Eevee felt tears come to her eyes while staring at her friend. 'Why are you leaving me? Please don't leave me.'

"Mew. Mew, Mew." Mew reached out to grab Eevee's hand in an assuring tone. 'Everything will be fine. No matter what happens, I am doing this to keep you and your trainer safe. I know how much that he cares about you. And I don't want you to lose him because of me. Just remember Eevee, make sure to cherish every moment with your trainer, because you never know when you won't have him anymore.' Eevee then saw Mew's eyes close for the final time as she started to disappear. Everyone looked over to see Mewtwo disappearing as well. Mewtwo had succumbed to his injuries, meaning that Mew now had to leave since she was the original creator. Pikachu walked over to Eevee, placing a comforting hand on Eevee's back as her tears poured from her eyes. Gary couldn't help but feel his heart break from the scene that had taken place. Eevee had lost a friend, and it was the Pokémon magician's fault. The teenagers stared at Eevee while she covered her eyes with her paws and started sobbing. Pikachu began to feel tears in his eyes as well, he was about to cry. Gary then stopped staring at his Pokémon crying to realize that the Pokémon magician wasn't with them. If he wasn't there, then where was he? Gary wasn't about to let the Pokémon magician get away after he let the head of Team Rocket get away himself. Gary turned to Dawn who noticed that the Pokémon magician was holding another Pokéball, standing on the empty bleachers, a crazed look on his face.

"I am not going to let children meddle in my plans!" Cornelius sounded almost insane. "I am going to be the supreme ruler of the Pokémon world, even if it means that I am going to have to do it myself. I don't need Eevee to take over the world. I can do it on my own!" Cornelius let out a cackle, but he didn't notice that Eevee stopped crying to look at the Pokémon magician ranting. Eevee felt anger throughout her body. She was angry that she was kidnapped, she was angry that Mew had died for her, she was angry that she was separated from the one person that she loved the most—Gary. Eevee ran over to the Pokémon magician, hoping to end this once and for all.

"Eevee! NO!" Gary screamed, trying to go after Eevee but ended up being stopped by Ash and Dawn. If they knew what Eevee was doing, then Gary was just going to have to trust her. Eevee ran up the bleachers, getting more and more angry, feeling it all over her body. She couldn't contain her anger anymore, and the next thing she knew a powerful fireball emerged from her mouth and hit the Pokémon magician square in the chest. Everyone else looked in awe at the magician hitting the wall and the Pokéball popping out of his hand, rolling towards Eevee. Eevee stepped on the Pokéball, looking over at the magician, meaning that it was game over for the magician. The Magician stared at Eevee, a look of defeat on his face. He was beaten by a couple of teenagers and an Eevee. There was no way out of it. Officer Jenny entered the room with her backup police officers, looking for the magician that had caused all the drama.

"He's up there." Dawn pointed towards the bleachers where Eevee was guarding him until the police came. Officer Jenny ran up the bleachers and collared the perp, giving Eevee a thankful smile for guarding the dangerous man.

"I have been waiting for this ever since you robbed that girl in Twinleaf Town. Cornelius Preston? You're under arrest for theft and conspiring to using Pokémon for evil." Officer Jenny snarled while slapping the metal handcuffs on the magician's wrists. Officer Jenny handed the magician to another officer so she could give Eevee a pat on her head. "You're such a brave Pokémon. Thank you for your help." While being led out of the building, Cornelius turned to Ash and Gary who looked almost unfazed at him. Instead, they were glad that justice was to be served and that he wasn't going to cause any more trouble to anyone.

"I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those meddling teenagers and their Pikachu and Eevee." The magician grumbled as the officer led him out of the building. Gary turned to Ash letting out a thankful smile. He let out his hand, Ash looking down at it and back at Gary.

"Thank you for helping me get Eevee back." Gary softly said to his friend. Ash looked at Gary shaking his head.

"I did it because you're my friend." Ash explained.

"I know, but the lengths you went through just to get Eevee back. It was brave. Really brave." Gary smiled. He then turned to Dawn and Zoey who were standing there, giving Gary a smile that it was all over. "Thank you Dawn. Thank you Zoey. Without you guys, Eevee could have been used for evil by now." Gary wasn't expecting getting engulfed in a hug by Dawn. Gary thought for a moment and then relented, hugging her back while Ash and Zoey looked on with a smile. Gary figured things were going to be all right from now on. He had good friends that he could count on. Right now, life was good for Gary and he was hoping that it would stay that way.

* * *

Outside of the headquarters, Gary took a deep breath of the fresh air that was before him. He felt happier than he had in days, and because of Zoey he learned that maybe he didn't just like his Pokémon, maybe he loved them just as much as his friend Ash did. Gary felt something rub along his leg and when he looked down, it was none other than Eevee, giving Gary a small smile.

"Hey you." Gary picked Eevee up from the ground, giving her a tight hug. Eevee looked to Gary, giving Gary a kiss on his cheek. Gary let out a smile, tightening his hug on her. "I'm so glad that you're safe Eevee. I'm sorry that I let them take you. I love you." Eevee rubbed her head in the crook of Gary's neck affectionately in response. Gary then knew that Eevee was still hurting that Mew was gone since she wasn't as happy as she usually was. "Mew would have been so proud of you for taking on the Pokémon magician when you did Eevee. _I'm _very proud of you." Eevee looked up to Gary, her smile brightening.

"Eevee." Eevee sounded content as she continued to rub on Gary's neck. Eevee turned her head to see that Zoey was walking towards them. Maybe it was time for Gary to get the courage to talk to Zoey. He had been a chicken about it the whole time. Eevee jumped down from Gary's arms and started pushing him towards Zoey. Gary was about to ask what Eevee was up to, until he noticed that Zoey was standing before him.

"Zoey." Gary blurted out. Eevee ran off to see if she could find Professor Oak while Gary spoke to Zoey. Gary looked confused at his Pokémon before realizing what she was doing. She was setting him up—again.

"We did it." Zoey felt herself blush. Gary looked over at her with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, we did." Gary grabbed Zoey and engulfed her in a tight hug. For some reason, he didn't want her to forget how much it had meant to him to have her come with him. "Thank you so much Zoey. For everything." Zoey broke the hug slightly to look into Gary's eyes. She had worked up the nerve to come up to him, she could at least work up the nerve to tell her how she felt.

"So, do you still think that you're not special?" Zoey raised an eyebrow, giving Gary a smile. "You came all this way with Ash to find Eevee. Eevee seems to think that you're special." Zoey felt a blush creep upon her cheeks as took a deep breath. "I think that you're special." That was just enough for Gary, who leaned in and kissed Zoey. He wasn't sure what he was doing but when Zoey pulled him closer to her and responded to his kiss, he knew that he was doing something right. Zoey broke the kiss, placing a hand on Gary's cheek with a smile on her face. "I don't care what anyone else says. You're _my_ hero Gary." Gary placed his hand where Zoey had hers on his cheek. He didn't care if anyone saw, he felt that being with Zoey was right. Little did Gary know, his grandfather was watching every minute of it, and a smile crept on his face, glad to see that his young grandson had finally grown up to be a man.

* * *

Ash stared out at the sunrise with Pikachu resting on his shoulders. Ash was deep in his thoughts when a tap on his shoulder brought him out of it. Ash turned his head to see Dawn staring at him, wondering what had him so quiet. He had barely spoken to anyone since the magician was arrested, which wasn't like Ash at all.

"Hey." Dawn softly said.

"Hey." Ash looked back at her before looking out at the sunrise. He motioned for Dawn to come closer to him, which she obliged. Dawn stood next to Ash while he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You're not too busy for me, are you?"

"No." Dawn shrugged her shoulders. She then turned her head to her boyfriend, a serious look on her face. "You know I'm mad at you."

"What?" Ash turned back to Dawn, not sure what she meant by that. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Because you put yourself in danger!" Dawn couldn't bottle up her anger anymore. She had to let Ash know how she felt. "You promised you weren't going to do something stupid and you did. I was afraid I was going to lose you! You don't get that you mean the world to me, and you went off and almost killed yourself!"

"If I didn't try to save the world then there wouldn't be any world to save." Ash tried to reason with Dawn. Dawn's anger diminished from her face, seeing that he was now serious. "I don't want to lose you, which was why I tried to sacrifice myself."

"Ash…" Dawn softly said, feeling her heart warm up.

"I would never want to lose you." Ash started to explain. "I'm sorry that I went back on my word there, but with the world in danger the only person I could think about was you. I didn't want to picture a world without you." Dawn engulfed Ash in a hug which made Pikachu jump down from his comfortable spot around Ash's shoulder.

"I never want to lose you, Ash." Dawn whispered loud enough for Ash to hear. "I love you so much…even though you have 'chronic hero syndrome'."

"I love you too." Ash softly responded. Dawn moved her face to look at Ash's and leaned in to kiss him. Dawn filled the kiss with so much passion; passion that Ash knew was love. Ash and Dawn parted from their kiss with Ash moving Dawn's hair from her face before placing a small kiss on her forehead. After everything Ash and Dawn had been through together in the last couple of days together, he realized that there was one thing he couldn't live without—and that one thing he couldn't live without was Dawn. And he never, ever wanted to feel the pain of almost losing her again for as long as he lived.


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: Well, this is it. The final chapter of the story. Thank you so much for reading this story and I hoped that you enjoyed all the hard work I put into it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I really wish I did. (My final disclaimer for this story. Sigh. :'( )**

* * *

Gary sat by himself in the Twinleaf Town Pokémon lab, looking at his research and findings about Eevee. All for the sake of science, Gary almost inadvertently destroyed the world. Gary continued to ponder what to do with the information that he almost didn't notice Dawn and Zoey entering the Pokémon lab, hoping to find the budding Pokémon researcher in there. Sure enough, they found Gary was sitting in front of the computer with Eevee taking a nap by his foot.

"Hey _boyfriend_." Zoey let out a smile towards Gary. Gary turned around, to see Zoey and Dawn standing before him. Boyfriend. It was going to take Gary a while to get used to that one. "Are you ready to get going?"

"Almost." Gary blushed at Zoey before turning back around to look at the computer. "There's just something that I have to take care of first." Dawn walked to one side of Gary to watch what he was doing. Sure enough, it was Gary trying to decide what he was going to do with the research.

"What are you doing? All that research and hard work you put into it." Dawn put a hand on Gary's shoulder while staring at the computer. "I thought that this meant the world to you."

"My research almost killed Eevee, Ash, you, Zoey and everyone else around us." Gary turned to Dawn with a serious look on his face. "Maybe there are just some things in this world that shouldn't be tampered with." Gary turned back around, sure of what he was going to do.

"You're right Gary." Dawn nodded her head. Gary pressed the delete button on the computer, and just like that, the information and all of the trouble was gone. The hard part was over, and it was time to get out of there to celebrate.

"Come on, we still have to plan everything for the party later." Gary tried to lighten the mood. He picked up a sleepy Eevee before turning back to the computer. He let out a satisfied smile, sure that even though he wasn't going to be able to finish his findings, he found that he did the right thing by his Pokémon and by his friends.

"Gary, do you mind if I carry Eevee back to the house?" Dawn wondered. Gary turned his attention to Dawn, seeing that she was serious. Gary let out a grin, handing Eevee to Dawn. He didn't see the harm in letting Dawn dote over Eevee for a little while. While Dawn exited the room with Eevee, Gary was held back for a moment by Zoey, who was intent in trying to get his attention.

"Are you sure you're all right Gary?" Zoey wondered.

"Yeah, I mean I can always do more research on something else." Gary assured Zoey. "Maybe I could do an ancient Pokémon next."

"That's not what I meant." Zoey let out a slight chuckle before her face turned serious. "I mean, are you okay with everything that's happened? With the fact that your friends sacrificed everything just to make sure that you were safe? Are you okay with _us_?" Gary finally understood what Zoey was talking about.

"With the fact that everyone was almost killed for me, it's going to take a while to cope with everything." Gary admitted. He then took Zoey's hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. "But with us, I'm just fine." Zoey blushed while Gary leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. Gary and Zoey parted from their kiss, looking at one another as if they were the only beings left on the earth. Zoey soon started to pull Gary out of the lab with a smile on her face.

"Come on, if we're going to still be there for the party then we better get a move on." Zoey led Gary out of the lab. Gary couldn't help but have a wide smile on his face. _I don't know what's going to happen, _Gary thought to himself. _But I'm liking what's happening so far._

* * *

"Come on, why can't I look?" Ash begged while Dawn had her hand over Ash's eyes. Pikachu was leading Ash towards Dawn's house, already knowing what the surprise was.

"Because I said so." Dawn tried to be stern, but found herself smiling instead. Ash and Dawn reached the back entrance to Dawn's house, while Dawn uncovered Ash's eyes.

"Why are we at the back of your house?" Ash scratched the back of his head.

"Because, there's something inside the house for you." Dawn revealed. Dawn and Ash entered the house where the lights were turned off. Ash wasn't sure if he was going to like his surprise. He wasn't big on surprises. "Gee, I wonder why the lights are turned off." Dawn pretended that she had no knowledge as to what was going on.

"Dawn, either you really don't know what's going on or you're a bad liar." Ash joked.

"Hush you." Dawn playfully scolded. Dawn then went for the lights to reveal that there was a party—for him! Ash wasn't sure what it was for until he read the sign that was hanging on the ceiling. The party was because he had placed in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League. Ash didn't feel like it was a reason to celebrate, but if his friends thought so then he might as well accept the fact that they were doing this for him.

"Congratulations Ash." Brock walked over to Ash and patted him on his back. Ash turned to Dawn, and automatically knew that she was most likely the leading woman of the operation.

"Let's get the party started!" Gary exclaimed, pulling his good friend in the middle of the scene, hoping to get some congratulations in order. Dawn couldn't help but chuckle at Ash. After all they had been through, they were finally happy.

* * *

After spending some time mingling with everyone at the party, Ash went outside by himself to get some air. He needed to think for a moment about everything he had went through. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened the past few days, but as long as everyone was all right, then he didn't care. Ash was into his thoughts that he didn't realize that Dawn walked up to him, sitting on one of the logs next to him enjoying the night sky.

"Everything was to your liking?" Dawn wondered. Ash turned his head towards his girlfriend, beaming with pride.

"Everything was great. Thank you." Ash acknowledged Dawn. Dawn blushed and leaned in closer to cuddle with him.

"You know Ash, you really are remarkable." Dawn whispered. Ash looked over to Dawn, actually impressed that she thought he was remarkable.

"Why do you think that _I'm _remarkable?" Ash questioned. "I think that you're amazing."

"Me?" Dawn pointed to herself.

"Are you kidding, of course." Ash leaned back on the log, Dawn following his lead. "You saved my life Dawn. You took on the Pokémon magician and a Mewtwo in order to save me."

"Yeah, but look at the lengths you went through just to bring Eevee home. You felt that it was your responsibility to bring Eevee back to Gary and you did." Dawn grinned while looking at Ash. "I'm so proud of you."

"I'm actually proud of _you_." Ash pointed to Dawn. "I underestimated you a little too long. You're completely fantastic. Seeing all the things that you did made me realize why I'm so in love with you." Dawn reddened at Ash's comment, turning away.

"Aww, you really mean that?" Dawn asked.

"I mean every word." Ash pulled Dawn closer to him, but there was a thought that was lingering in his mind.

"Ash, is everything okay?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, I was just wondering, no matter what you'll still be there for me, right?" Ash looked afraid that there might be a day where he wouldn't have Dawn. Dawn grabbed Ash's hand while looking deep into his eyes.

"As long as there are Pokémon Ash Ketchum, I will always and unconditionally love you." Dawn stared at her boyfriend before pulling him in for a long, passionate kiss. There were a lot of things that made Ash passionate about his dream of being a Pokémon master, but hearing those words come from Dawn's mouth made Ash realize that the one person that he wanted by his side throughout the journey was Dawn. Like she said, as long as there were Pokémon they could continue to love each other, as long as they both shall live.

_THE END_


End file.
